RecruitZ (Afterworld Series) (31 page)

I pressed my lips together and shifted in my chair. I didn’t like where this was going.

“Needless to say, all I’ve done is help line his pockets and create the deadliest weapon ever known to man,” she said, her voice hoarse. “Well, I don’t need to tell either of you that, now do I? You’ve both seen it firsthand. The hordes.”

“Thank you for that,” I said, my voice tipped with controlled anger.

“Marcus has been getting requests nonstop for these beasts. That’s why the cloning began. It has to be fresh zombies. I watched as the research shifted completely away from finding a cure to—”

“Creating weapons unlike any the world had ever encountered. Relentless, inescapable, and in great numbers completely overwhelming,” I said harshly.

“So you’re cloning people who what, won’t be missed or who are already missing?” Preston asked, his fists tightly clamped.

“We can create a clean clone from living or undead beings,” she answered.

“That explains Peter’s missing tattoos,” I muttered.

“The supply will be endless until he is stopped,” she said.

“Then why don’t you turn him in? Expose what’s really going on?” Preston said, his words almost at shouting level.

“We can’t let this get in the government’s hands. Once they find out this can be done, they won’t destroy it. They’ll use it. Maybe not today or tomorrow but mark my words, they’ll claim it. You need to stop Marcus. I know you can,” she said, looking directly at me.

I scoffed at her statement and shook my head.

“Listen to me, I’ve grown close to Marcus. The only thing that resonates with him is money. If you can find out how to take that away from him, his entire operation will crumble. We live in a capitalist world. There are always competitors,” she said, her brow arching.

“Sorry, I haven’t ever had an urge get into the zombie wrangling business,” I replied.

How twisted was the afterworld? Instead of going to the government, she was suggesting the way to end a worldwide threat was to give Marcus a run for his money? Add a little competition to the game?

“Why are you telling us these things?” I questioned.

“Over the last week, I finally came to the realization that I won’t be able to help my sister. You saw what happened to her out there. I’ve just prolonged her nightmare. I’m done. I’m leaving and hoping to never come back. I’ve lost everything I ever cared for and the reason generally points back to me,” she said. “So I want to make things right as best I can.”

Pointing to a metal briefcase against the far wall, she said, “Take that on your way out. It has everything you will need when the time is right. I’m not expecting you to believe me or take my advice. I wouldn’t either. But just give it some thought.”

“What about your daughter?” I asked. “What happened to her?”

“How did you know about her?” she asked, her eyes drilling into me.

“Your husband mentioned her,” Preston responded. “Said she was taken away to an MHA facility where she—”

“She’s still alive. I doctored a photo once I realized what was really going on. I didn’t want her used as a pawn. I wanted both my husband and Marcus to think she was dead. She’s somewhere no one will ever find her, and I will make sure it stays that way.”

Dr. Falino stood up and straightened her skirt. “I know you have a lot to think about, and I doubt I’ll ever see you two again, but I do look forward to seeing how the afterworld turns around. Hopefully, you’ll ensure that it does.”

“So she screws shit up and wants us to fix it?” I asked, climbing out of the car.

“Out of everything, that’s what pisses you off?” he laughed, closing the driver’s door.

We arrived back at the house, and I saw a warm glow coming from Emily and Braden’s bedroom. My heart weighed heavy with the thought of what they would be facing for months and years to come. And then Gavin flashed in my mind, and the anger that his image now conjured soared through my veins.

“We have an informant inside Barrell’s Security as well, right?” I asked.

Preston nodded as we climbed the steps.

“I wonder if we should get him involved?” I questioned.

“Coming around to the doctor’s suggestion, are we?” he teased.

“Meh,” I said, shrugging my shoulder. “There’s something else I wanted to run by you.”

“Yeah?” Preston opened the door, and I walked through, setting the briefcase on the entry floor. My gaze hovered on the little RecruitZ decal on the briefcase. Clever.

“I want to take Abby to a zombie pit.”

Preston was silent and I understood why. But as he spoke about the other believers as family, I considered Abby and Caleb as part of mine. It stung that they didn’t believe what I did, and if I could show them even a tiny piece of the world I’d dug up maybe they wouldn’t think I was crazy.

I watched the gears turn inside his mind as I waited for an answer. He let out a deep sigh and ran his fingers across his chin.

“You’re not going to let up until you get your way, I’m assuming,” he said, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

This time it was my turn to stay silent.

“Do you honestly think you’ll be able to walk into the pit unnoticed?” His brow arched.

“I don’t think he’ll be expecting me or us.”

“Us? I feel like there’s something you’re not telling me, and I thought we were over that hurdle.”

“I know how much Abby and Caleb care about me and that kind of devotion can carry all of us a long way…if they could only see what I have seen.”

“You’re willing to put them at risk to prove your sanity?” he questioned.

“It’s not only about that, but I would like them to wake up. Yes! Witness what’s actually going on around them, and photos aren’t going to cut it. They’d just tell me the images had been doctored or something,” I said, following Preston to the family room.

“Why don’t you cut to the chase and tell me what else you have in mind,” he said, collapsing onto the couch.

I glanced at the chair across from him and then at the welcoming cushions surrounding him. I chose the chair.

“I was hoping we could introduce Barrell security to the zombie pits,” I said, ready for him to shoot the idea down.

“Anything we do needs time to plan,” Preston said, pressing his lips together.

“I don’t agree. I don’t think we have time. The longer Marcus has to spread the word about his RecruitZ, the worse off we’ll be. If we can topple his little empire before it gets wings, our chances are better—not great—but better.”

“And how do Abby and Caleb actually fit into this plan of yours? I’m not buying that you suddenly want them to know you’re not insane.”

“Believe it or not, that’s actually important to me. But you’re right. I do have ulterior motives…” my voice trailed off. I could hear footsteps above as Emily maneuvered around in their bedroom above us. I sat back in the chair. Preston’s eyes were locked on mine, interested in whatever I had to say.

“From what I can tell the seven-hundred plus people our network has, are all involved in the cause because a love one died, or they witnessed something happen to a loved one. Correct?” I asked.

He nodded.

“A few weeks ago, I would’ve thought that would have created the perfect army—the perfect fighters—because they were fighting for what they believed was the truth. Revenge fueled them, fueled me. My guess is most of them would fight to their death if called upon to avenge their husbands, wives, sisters, and brothers…”

Preston nodded. “Absolutely.” He clasped his hands in front of him and leaned forward. “That type of fury is explosive, powerful. It leads us all to do things we wouldn’t normally do.”

“Except when what you’re fighting for isn’t exactly what you thought. What if they’re exposed to a truth that isn’t something they can handle, something that cuts them off at the knees?” I asked. “Suddenly our army is weak, wounded from their previously unknown histories.” I paused for a moment. “Finding out that Gavin wasn’t who I thought he was, could have crippled me, ruined me. I’m just lucky it didn’t or hasn’t—yet.”

“So you think if we can start bringing people in who haven’t experienced that kind of loss and that’s not what’s driving their motives, our chances are better,” he stated. “But the trust factor is—”

“Going to be difficult no matter how our network grows, but it needs to grow. Something tells me what we’re facing right now with Marcus is only the tip of the iceberg and we need to be ready.”

I tucked my foot underneath me and waited for Preston to respond.

“I know where the next fight is. They’re not having it at the pit you went to.” He smiled. “I was actually thinking the same thing about stopping by one to see how it has changed.”

“Great minds think alike. When is the fight?”

“Tomorrow night,” he said.

“Well, the contact information for the head of Barrell Security was conveniently placed in the briefcase she gave us,” I said. “And, yes, I know that could be a little too convenient. I’m hoping as much as you are that it’s not a setup. Believe me. But one step at a time.”

“Well, since you’re going to do this with or without me, why don’t you plan on meeting up with your friends, and I’ll try to get ahold of the contact Dr. Falino has listed at Barrell.

***

I walked slowly toward Preston. My body felt achy with pain or maybe it was grief. I was too depressed to distinguish the slight nuance between the two. It was so hard to lose Gavin the way I did, but it was far more difficult to find out that the man I loved was hiding so many secrets. That was the most challenging thing I had to come to grips with, and I wasn’t sure I could. I thought I was doing fine, but the thought that he was somehow involved in this, whatever this was, actually caused me pain, physical pain.

Preston was sitting on the bed, and he’d just removed his shirt. My eyes traced across the definition of his chest and then dipped lower following the trail over peaks and valleys down his abdomen. My eyes caught something I hadn’t seen before. He had a tattoo on the left side of his torso. I sat down on the bed and smiled. My hand automatically traced the outline of his inked skin and I began to laugh.

“A haz-mat symbol?” I asked.

“That was pretty much how I felt right after things happened, after everything happened. Like I was a hazard to be around…until I met you,” his voice low, vibrating a rush of emotions that had been hidden deep inside of me. His blue eyes locked on mine, igniting something I hadn’t felt for a very, very long time. Human.

His words enclosed me, edging their way inside of me slowly as I dropped my gaze from his.

“I’m asking that you let me in,” Preston said. “In the way that scares you.”

I lifted my finger to the symbol etched into his skin and softly traced the image over and over again as I thought about what to say. Feeling the softness of his skin run under my finger was something I desperately missed. He caught my hand in his and brought it up to his lips. My breath caught as I felt the warmth, the softness of his lips against my knuckles.

A flash of heat bolted through me as his lips traced down my hand to my wrist. He slowly turned my hand over and began kissing the underside of my wrist. My skin was so sensitive to his touch that it was impossible to hide the goose bumps that ran over my skin in waves.

I slowly stood up and felt the tightness along my back where the skin had healed. The hurt had gone away from those wounds. The mending had begun, but as I thought about my past—my history with Gavin—I wasn’t sure I’d be so lucky. I didn’t know if the agony would ever go away, if those wounds could ever be healed.

Preston’s eyes connected with mine and for the first time in a very long time, I no longer felt like a woman void of emotion.

“I’m no longer chasing a past that never existed,” I whispered, looking into his eyes. I dropped my hands to his chest and felt the firmness underneath as my fingers traced along his pecs.

“I’ll always be here for you,” he replied. “No matter what. No matter how long it takes.”

He wrapped his arms around my waist, his fingers sliding up my spine as I dipped my head lower. His lips were so close to mine, I could feel the warmth of his breath skate across my skin. I wanted to feel his lips, taste his lips as I steadied my gaze on his mouth.