Broken World (Book 3): Mad World (11 page)

I flinch, and Jon clears his throat. “I helped bring them both in. Had a night with the blonde chick already. She was feisty, but good.”

I’m gonna rip his head off.

I swallow and nod. “Sounds like something I’d like.”

11
Vivian

HADLEY’S BODY IS SHAKING WHEN SHE SITS DOWN next to me. Her hair is still dripping from her shower. It’s already almost dinnertime, and she’s barely spoken since she got back to the room. I wish I could think of something to say. Maybe distracting her would be the best thing? It’s worth a shot.

“You’ve never told me about your family,” I say.

Hadley stares at me for a few seconds. Her green eyes are blank. She blinks, then clears her throat. “I grew up in Ohio.”

I nod like I didn’t already know that. She did tell us a little something about her family that first day at the shelter, but I want to get her talking. “Brothers and sisters?”

“An older brother,” she says, and her eyes start to focus a little more.

“Were you close?”

Her lips twitch slightly. “Most of the time. I dated a lot of his friends, and he didn’t love that. But we got along.”

Her body relaxes a fraction, and I smile. “I always thought it would be nice to have a brother. Hell, it would have been nice to have any kind of real family.”

Hadley bites down on her lip, and her green eyes narrow on my face. A little color has come back to her cheeks. Yeah, getting her talking was a good idea. Any kind of distraction will help us right now.

“Darla’s your mom?”

Shit. Maybe not. My stomach twists the way it always does when I think about Darla, and I nod. I was pretty sure Hadley had overheard that argument, so I shouldn’t feel as nauseated as I do. But I can’t help it. Darla makes me sick.

I clear my throat. “Yeah. If you can call her that. She gave birth to me, anyway. I haven’t seen her since I was ten and she ran off. That’s when my dad started beating me…” I swallow, and Hadley nods. Her cheeks get pinker like she’s embarrassed or feels bad for me. It’s good for her to be focused on my shit rather than her own right now. “Before she ran out, Darla always took the brunt of his anger.” I shrug. “Just another day in the trailer park.”

“You always talk about yourself like you’re such white trash. You don’t act like it, though. No offense to Axl, but you can tell just by talking to him where he grew up. Not you.”

“That’s because I worked hard to distance myself from all that. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life that way.” I laugh, and it’s one of the most bitter sounds I’ve ever heard. “I had big plans. I was going to meet a nice guy and get married. Be a soccer mom. All that boring crap I’ve only ever seen on TV. Ridiculous.”

“Why is that ridiculous?”

“Because I was a stripper. I took a few classes at the community college, read a lot of books. Worked hard to make sure I sounded like a nice girl. But at the end of the night, I went to work and took my clothes off for money. I was fooling myself. A nice guy wouldn’t marry a girl like me.”

Hadley shakes her head, and she almost looks like her old self. Maybe talking about the trivial problems of the past is the best thing right now. Get her mind off the world we’re living in.

“That’s not true.”

“Doesn’t matter,” I say with a shrug. “Not anymore.”

Hadley nods and squeezes my hand.
She’s
comforting
me.
Maybe she will be able to come back from this. I hope so. I like Hadley a lot, and the thought of her letting this destroy her after we’ve survived so much other bullshit makes me ache.

“You want to hear something that will make you feel better?” I nod, and she actually grins. I almost cry when I see it. “I moved to Hollywood right out of high school. I was
so
determined to make it as an actress. But I was only getting small parts in TV shows and I was barely getting by. I was minutes away from taking a part in one of those late night Cinemax movies.
Minutes
.”

“What stopped you?”

“I got the lead in
Zombieworld
. It was pretty low-budget, but it was popular. It made my career.” She laughs, then puts her hand over her mouth. Her eyes are huge and round. Terrified. “It all seems like a nightmare now.”

***

After dinner, Megan is a little more coherent than usual. She asks Hadley all kinds of questions about Hollywood. Questions only a teenager would think to ask. Like if Hadley had ever met Zac Efron or if she could call up any other celebrity any time she wanted to. It’s kind of strange, but maybe she’s doing the same thing I was. Trying to distract herself from reality.

When the linebackers show up and start pulling women out, Megan shrinks inside herself. Hadley scoots closer to me, and we both sit in tense silence while they make their way through the room. They’re headed our way. Linebacker One even glances toward me a few times.

It’s Jon. It has to be Jon.

That’s all I can think when Linebacker One stops in front of me. He stares down at us with a big grin on his face. “You two are popular.”

Hadley squeaks when he jerks her to her feet, but she doesn’t fight. I don’t either. She’s going to Jon. I know it. He promised. But me…the odds that Tat wants another go at me are slim.

My heart pounds so hard it echoes in my ears, totally drowning out the moans of the zombies in the hallway. Linebacker Two stands at the elevator just like before. Hadley sobs. Linebacker One’s fingers dig into the bruises on my arm, but I hardly feel it. He shoves me into the elevator right behind Hadley, and we find ourselves squeezed up against the back wall.

I close my eyes when the door shuts and a tear slides down my cheek. Hadley doesn’t stop crying and I really wish I could reassure her, but I can’t let the linebackers know about Jon. Plus, I’m pretty sure if I open my mouth, I’ll burst into tears. All I can think about right now is how it felt to have Tat on top of me. His hot skin against mine. His teeth biting my skin. I start to shake.

What happened with him was nothing compared to what I’m about to face.

The elevator dings, and I open my eyes. We’re on the ninth floor. Linebacker One shoves two women out, then grabs Hadley. She yelps, but I can’t even look at her as she’s dragged away. Something like bitterness squeezes my insides, and for the first time, doubt creep up inside me. Maybe I shouldn’t have sacrificed myself for Hadley. Maybe I should have been selfish…

The linebacker comes back, and we continue down. We stop on another floor, then another, and then I’m the last girl. Linebacker One leers at me, and more than once he mumbles something about needing to go out on a run. My stomach clenches until I almost double over in pain, but I don’t want him to know how much he’s bothering me.

The door slides open on the third floor, and I come face to face with Jon. His eyes meet mine when he steps into the elevator, and my heart plummets. He isn’t the man who requested Hadley.

Oh, shit.

Linebacker One jerks me forward and pulls me down the hall. My heart pounds. Please let it be Tat. Please, God. Do this for me. Tat
won’t be able to get it up. Anyone else, and I’m screwed. Literally.

I let out a panicked laugh, and it comes out sounding slightly hysterical. Am I going crazy? I haven’t slept much. I’m starving and probably about to be raped. Throw all that on top of the fact that the entire civilized world seems to have disappeared and been replaced by this madness, I’ve found and lost my only child in a matter of days, and fallen in love just in time for these assholes to destroy it. Things just keep getting better and better.

Every muscle and nerve in my body screams at me to run, but there’s nothing I can do. I couldn’t get away from this guy even if there was somewhere to go. And there isn’t. I’m totally trapped. There are a few men standing in the hall in front of me. If I took off, they’d stop me for sure. The elevator is at my back, along with Linebacker Two. This place is solid. Like Fort Knocks on steroids.

When the linebacker stops in front of a room, my body starts to shake so hard my teeth rattle together. He raps his knuckles against the door, and I wait for what feels like hours. The knob turns, and my heart pounds harder. My stomach lurches when it starts to open, but once again I’m shoved forward before I can register who it is.

The door slams behind me, and I spin around. A strangled sob pops out of my mouth. “Axl!”

Tears fill my eyes, spilling over as I throw myself into his arms. He’s sweaty and filthy and smells like death. But I don’t care. He’s here.

His mouth covers mine, hot and urgent, and he pushes me back against the wall. His hands are everywhere. On my face and in my hair, caressing my arms and my back. Running down over my chest and stomach. It isn’t sexual, though. It’s like he’s reassuring himself I’m here. That I’m still in one piece.

It’s the most amazing feeling I’ve experienced.

“You okay?” he whispers between kisses. His voice is low and rough.

“I’m okay. I’m okay.” I’m still crying, and it’s all I seem to be able to get out. Even that is shaky.

He pulls back and studies me more closely. His gray, stormy eyes search mine. His hand runs down the side of my face, caressing the bruises left behind by Tat. His expression hardens. “Did they…Jon said…” He swallows, and for the first time since I met him, he looks uncertain. “Did anybody touch you?” His jaw is so tight the words are barely audible. His eyes are hard with unconcealed rage.

I shake my head and hold his face between my hands. “Not really. I mean, he tried but…” A sob shakes my body when the memory comes screaming back. “I’m okay.”

His face crumples and he opens his mouth to say something else, but I cut him off with a kiss. I raise myself up on my toes and trace his lips with my tongue. Forcing his jaw to relax. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me closer. My entire body ignites. I can’t believe he’s here. I was starting to wonder if I’d ever see him again. If we’d ever be able to find a way out of this.

His hands and mouth move down my body, and he pulls my shirt over my head. He runs his tongue down my neck to my cleavage, and his fingers tease my nipple, pulling on the small silver ring that pierces it. When his mouth closes over it, I let out a gasp. I close my eyes and work to block out everything that’s happened the past couple days, focusing on nothing but Axl.

We make our way to bed, and Axl pulls his own shirt over his head. Within seconds, we’re both naked, and his mouth moves down my body. Teasing and caressing every curve.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” I whisper as he kisses his way up my stomach and over my breasts.

His mouth tickles the skin on my neck, sending shivers down my spine. “I never woulda stopped lookin’ for you.”

I pull him up and kiss him again. “I love you.” The words tumble out before I can stop them, but I don’t regret it. I should have said it earlier. Never should have left the shelter without letting him know how much I care.

Axl pulls back, and his gray eyes hold mine. He runs his hand down my face and between my breasts, then grasps my hips. When he enters me, I gasp.

“I love you,” he says, rocking his body against mine. Slow and steady, like the waves crashing against the shore. “I ain’t never gonna let you outta my sight again.”

***

My cheek rests against Axl’s chest. His skin still wet from our shower. He needed it. Hell, so did I. I trace my fingers up his chest to his shoulder, down his arm. Then I sit up. The knuckles on his right hand are red and cut. Bruised. I lift his hand and press my lips against the cuts.

“What happened?” I whisper against his skin.

His lips twitch, and he pushes a few strands of wet hair behind my ear. “Punched a wall. Doc says it’s broke.”

“That was dumb.” I roll my eyes. “You should have a cast or something.”

“Had a brace. It got in the way.”

Of course. He’s too much of a man to take care of an injury.

I lay my head back down on his chest, then let out a deep breath. “Tell me you guys have a plan.”

“We’re workin’ on it. We can get you and Hadley for a night, but we ain’t sure what to do ‘bout Megan. She’s ain’t on the list downstairs.” His hand sweeps across my head, twisting my wet hair between his fingers. It causes goose bumps to pop up on my arms.

I tilt my head up so I can see his face. Looking into his gray eyes is like standing in the middle of a storm. “She’s hurt. She got beat up pretty bad.”

He touches my own black eye, and I wince. “Who did this?”

“Is it bad?”

“You ain’t seen it?” His eyes cloud over, and he traces my cheekbone with his fingertip.

“No mirrors in the suite. I guess a girl broke one last week and slit her wrists.” I swallow, and his jaw tightens. “They took out all the glass after that.”

He leans down and kisses my eye, then my cheek. It stings, but almost in a good way. Like he’s sucking the poison out after a snake bite. “I’m sorry. I shoulda been there.”

“Don’t,” I whisper. “Let’s not focus on that. Let’s worry about what we’re going to do to get out of this.”

He nods and presses his lips to my swollen cheek again. “You got any ideas how we can get Megan out?”

His lips move against my skin, and I sigh. I just want to stay here forever with him and forget about the outside world.