Thicker than Blood (4 page)

Worse, he’d been Lawrence’s personal escort,
following wherever the man went, even standing watch outside our
house at night. Because of this, it had been Alex who’d found me
with my husband’s dead body.

If anything, I’d expected to see anger or
hatred in his features, or at the very least, shock and horror.
Instead, he’d taken one look at my bloody, battered body, another
at Lawrence’s mutilated form, then lifted his eyes to mine filled
with what looked like pity. And something else, something shocking
and unrelated that I couldn’t quite fathom.

Not a word was spoken as he’d slowly pulled
his handcuffs from his belt and gently placed them on my wrists.
Even more surprising was that he’d waited until I’d been securely
locked inside a cell before alerting the others to my crime. It had
dawned on me then that he’d been protecting me from the town’s
wrath, especially from those who had been a part of Lawrence’s
close-knit group.

I’d been here for an hour now, and yet hadn’t
had a single visitor other than Alex and a few other guardsmen
passing through. No one had so much as looked at me, let alone
spoken to me, leading me to wonder how many people had actually
known about the four long years of abuse I’d endured.

Why hadn’t anyone ever said a word about it?
No one except Evelyn, that is. And even Evelyn had been loath to
speak her mind in front of anyone who mattered. Speaking your mind
in this new world was a crime in and of itself, and if the words
you spoke were against Lawrence Whitney, you usually ended up minus
a tongue.

I sighed, knowing I couldn’t fault them for
falling in line with the cruelty here, not when the outside world
was as terrifying as it was. These men had saved us from the
infection, protected us, given us a semblance of our old lives, no
matter how warped that semblance might be. Something was always
better than nothing.

Averting my eyes from Alex’s, I looked out
the lone window and into the inky black night, thinking of what was
to come. I would be executed soon, there was no getting around
that, and yet, much to my own surprise, I wasn’t experiencing the
crippling fear I’d thought I would when it came to facing my own
death.

My calmness probably came from the
knowledge that the world I was leaving was a barren one, devoid of
everything I’d once loved. With the exception of Evelyn, there was
nothing here for me. And maybe some small part of me was still
hoping that there was a heaven somewhere out there in the great
unknown. That maybe the human race hadn’t been forsaken, and God
would forgive me for my sins, allow me into heaven to be with my
first husband again, to be the woman I once was without
repercussions—simple, shy, and happy.

Without consequence.

Maybe someday I would see Evelyn again as
well. Because if heaven was real, then she deserved to be there
too.

The sound of a door rubbing against the
concrete floor jolted me out of my musings. I jerked, then lifted
my head to find Alex already on his feet and nodding to whoever was
entering. I stiffened, preparing for the worst, thinking that my
time had already come and I would be sentenced to die
tonight.

A messy shock of dirty-blond hair came into
view first that I instantly recognized as belonging to Jami,
another Fredericksville guard and Evelyn’s latest distraction from
her husband. Following behind him, her face stained with tears, her
strawberry-blonde curls unusually messy and her hands wringing
together, was Evelyn.

My shocked gaze slid to Alex, who gave me a
small, sad grimace in return. He was helping me? Yet again?

I jumped off my stool, entirely forgetting
that my ankles were cuffed, and ended up falling forward. I twisted
my body just in time so as not to land flat on my face, allowing my
right arm to bear the brunt of the impact. Sharp pain radiated up
the limb, exploding in my neck, causing me to inadvertently cry
out.

While I lay there, breathing heavily,
tears stinging my eyes, I could hear the jingling of keys, the
sound of muffled cursing, and then she was there, kneeling on the
floor beside me, her hands gentle as she turned my body.

“
Oh God,” Evelyn whimpered as she looked me
over, her eyes widening at the sight of me. I couldn’t imagine what
I must have looked like; I hadn’t looked in a mirror since the
incident. But I knew from Alex’s initial expression, and now
Evelyn’s, that I was a sight to behold.

“Eve,” I said as I sobbed softly. “I’m so
sorry. I’m so very sorry.” Not for killing Lawrence but for leaving
her here alone, because that was what she would be after I was
gone—alone.

“Shh.” She shushed me, smoothing her hand
across my cheek and brushing errant strands of hair from my
eyes.

“No,” I whispered frantically, wishing I
could hug her. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking, and I—”

“Lei,” she interrupted, softly yet firmly.
“You have nothing to be sorry for. He got what was coming to him!
He got—”

“Eve!” The agitated mutter belonged to Alex.
“Keep your voice down!”

“You can’t be here,” I said, grabbing her
wrist. Using her arm, I pulled myself upright to a sitting
position.

Evelyn wrapped both her arms around me, then
bowed her head, pressing our foreheads together. As she held me, I
let out a shuddering sigh of relief. I inhaled slowly, smelling the
sweat on her skin, the faint smell of liquor and…Jami.

I looked up, over Evelyn’s head at the guard
she’d entered with. She wasn’t alone here. She had Jami, and if he
had been willing to risk bringing Evelyn into the station just to
visit me, his feelings must run deeper for her than he’d ever let
on.

“You need to leave,” I said, pulling away
from her as I forced back more tears that threatened. “You can’t be
seen here supporting me, not after what I did. They’ll kill you for
that, Eve.”

“I’m going to talk to Mason,” she said,
refusing to let me go, squeezing me tighter. “There has to be
something he can do, someone he can talk to.”

“Don’t get yourself in trouble for me!” I
blurted out. Pushing away from her again, I attempted to scoot
myself backward, a hard feat when handcuffed. “Why are you being so
reckless?”

Realizing what I’d said, using the same words
her late husband had always lovingly teased her with, guilt
instantly flooded me.

Evelyn went still, her eyes filling with
unshed tears. “You sound like Shawn,” she said quietly. A long,
pregnant pause followed. “And you know what I always said to
him.”

I nodded, feeling awful for her. “You
always said, ‘That’s why you love me.’”

Evelyn gave me a sad smile. “And that’s why
you love me too, Lei.”

My chest aching, I lowered my eyes. How I
longed for our lives before the infection. For our silly, simple,
and small lives in our quiet town where Evelyn had once been Miss
Popularity and a doting housewife, and I had been the quiet and
reserved preschool teacher. She had always been the complementary
sun to my moon. I missed it all—our husbands, our weekly barbeques,
our plans to vacation in Europe someday, our jokes about growing
old together.

“I want to be with Thomas,” I whispered,
shaking my head. “I’m not strong like you are.”

Evelyn threw her hands up in the air, her
expression twisted with both hurt and exasperation. “Why are you so
willing to leave, Lei?” she demanded. “To leave me! That isn’t what
Thomas would have wanted for you, to just give up!”

“He wouldn’t have wanted any of this!” I shot
back. “And he’s dead, Evelyn, he doesn’t want anything
anymore!”

In a singular lithe movement, Evelyn jumped
to her feet. Her hands planted on her hips, she glared down at
me.

“I won’t let you die, Lei.” Her tone was
forceful and stubborn, and so very Evelyn. “I won’t let you
die.”

Then she turned on her boot heel, arms
wrapped around her middle, and stormed out of my cell. Jami shot me
a sympathetic look before quickly following her out.

When they were gone, Alex strode slowly into
my cell. Bending at his knees, he offered me a hand. For a moment I
simply stared up at him, taking in his features for what seemed
like the first time, noting his closely shorn black hair and
equally dark eyes. He looked tired yet alert, clean yet scruffy
with several days’ growth covering his jaw.

It was one of those moments where you
realized that, although you’d lived side by side with someone,
you’d never truly noticed him before. How odd to have known someone
for so long only to realize you didn’t know him at all, not even a
little. I continued studying him, feeling as if I were missing
something, wondering at all his recent kindnesses, when he’d never
before seemed anything other than indifferent.

“I have a plan,” he said in a low tone,
barely a whisper. His eyes darted in the direction Jami and Evelyn
had just disappeared, and then back to me. “I’m going to get you
out of here. Out of Fredericksville.”

Bewildered, I widened my eyes as my mouth
fell open. “What?” I whispered.

He wiggled his fingers, beckoning me again to
take his hand. Somewhat in shock, I took it, allowing him to pull
me up and gently help me back to my bench.

Not another word was spoken as he turned away
from me and crossed the cell, once again locking me inside. He did
a full sweep of the hallway before turning around to face me.
Through the bars, he stared deeply into my eyes, revealing so much
emotion, more than I’d ever thought him capable of. But then again,
I’d never really thought much of him before.

“Because, Leisel. I want out too.”

Evelyn

“Mason, please,” I begged, clinging to my husband’s
leg as he attempted to walk away from me. “I’m begging you. Please,
do something.” I continued sobbing, my tears creating a damp spot
on his pants. “Don’t let her die.”

“
Evelyn, there’s nothing I can do for her.”
He bent down, struggling to pry my fingers from his ankle, then
huffed in frustration. “She killed Lawrence. He was my friend, you
know. She couldn’t have killed anyone more important if she tried!”
Throwing his hands up in exasperation, his double chin wobbling, he
looked down at me with pity in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Eve. I know
how much you cared for her.”

I looked down at the floor. My eyes were
burning fiery holes into the wooden floorboards and I had to wait
several seconds, breathing through my anger before I could manage
standing.

“
Cared?” I asked, seething. “I
care
for her, Mason. She’s not dead
yet.” Turning my back on him, I stormed out of the room. Behind me,
I heard him huff again in annoyance.

Now standing by the kitchen sink, I leaned
forward, gripping the counter top with both hands as I stared out
into the dwindling daylight. One day had already come and nearly
gone; tomorrow I would lose her, and I couldn’t lose her. I gripped
the counter harder.

She didn’t deserve any of this, and Lawrence
had gotten exactly what he deserved. He’d been a bastard until the
bitter end, and now he was going to take her down with him. My
breath came in short, ragged pants, my anger and frustration
threatening to swallow me whole.

Slow, deliberate footsteps shook me free from
my thoughts as Mason attempted to stealthily enter the room. Only
there was nothing stealthy about my husband, his slippers dragging
noisily across the floorboards, his heavy breathing a telltale
giveaway of his approach. A moment later his hands fell heavily on
my shoulders, and as usual, I had to fight the urge to shrug him
away.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his hot breath on my
neck.

In front of me the setting sun was a burning
golden sphere in the sky, casting a fiery heat across the front of
the house. The other houses didn’t get as much sun as mine, and I
had chosen it for that very reason. After our wedding, Mason had
given me the option to choose whichever available home I wanted.
I’d chosen this one for two reasons—it was close to Leisel, and the
sun…my God, so much sun. It was always the last house to lose the
daylight, and while the rest of my life consisted of so much
darkness, I needed the sun, needed its warmth.

Mason pressed his lips to my neck, leaving
sloppy, clumsy kisses. He was such a selfish man, only ever
thinking of himself and his needs. Both disgusted and annoyed, I
felt a shudder slither up my spine and across my arms, yet I did
nothing. There was nothing I could do. He owned me in a way a
husband should never be able to own his wife.

“Not tonight,” I managed to say, somehow
managing to not sound as repulsed as I felt. “I can’t.”

Slipping out from beneath his grip, I moved
quickly to the other side of our small kitchen. When I chanced a
glance in his direction, I found him red faced, embarrassed by my
casual brush-off. No other woman in Fredericksville had ever gotten
away with what I did. For the most part, I had Mason wrapped around
my little finger. He knew it, and I knew it. Yet now, when I really
needed the power, I had none.

There was only one way to save Leisel,
something I had already begun to arrange but had hoped I wouldn’t
need to commit to. We needed to leave, to escape. We needed to go
back out into the world we’d left behind—that everyone had left
behind.

The thought was both horrifying and
welcoming, especially knowing we could die out there. The infected
still lurked; I’d gathered this much from Jami and the other guards
who were often sent on scavenging runs. Although they weren’t as
quick as they used to be, the older infected and their rotting
bodies were more shamblers now than when they’d first turned, they
were still a blood-chilling sight to behold.