"Where are we going?" she asks.
I roll my eyes, catch her elbow, and pull her along a little faster. She mutters darkly under her breath.
The building looks deserted, but according to Jesse, this is the best place to find what I need. The black market meds are going to be where every other vice in the Haven is found. Everything is controlled by one group.
I knock quickly and lean down to murmur into Nurrin"s ear. "Quiet, little girl. Understand? Follow my lead."
She twitches and nods, just as the door swings open. I eye the bouncer, the steady thrum of music pounding behind him. "We"re closed."
I pull out a bag full of narcotics and creds. His eyes widen, and I smirk. "Finn O"Malley, with a guest. Let me in."
The guard steps aside, and we go into the long, wide hallway that separates the main club from the door. "Stay to the middle," I say, dragging her close behind me.
"Why?" she asks, and an infect explodes into the room from the left. Nurrin chokes a scream down, a half-heard noise that"s buried when she bites down on my shoulder. I grunt and keep walking-her hands clenched in the silk of my dress shirt.
The infect is harmless-as harmless as they ever are. His lower jaw has been shattered, teeth removed in a gaping maw. His fingers are broken off stubs, but the bone protrudes-enough to pick up a contact infection.
"Why?" she asks, again, her voice shaking and scared.
"They don"t want anyone stumbling onto this," I answer. The zombie hisses at us, broken fingers stretched. She shudders, and I keep going down the hall.
Another bouncer is waiting, this one visibly armed. He levels a gun at us, and I feel fury building in me. I understand the precautions, but at some point, they just become offensive. I"m well past my limit for irritating s.h.i.t.
I draw my own gun, c.o.c.k it, and point at his forehead. "My bribe already paid our pa.s.sage. Unless you want this place brought to the aldermen"s attention, you"ll put that down and let me f.u.c.king pa.s.s."
He smirks. "I heard O"Malley had graced the Haven again. Didn"t expect to see you in the Underground."
"That"s because you don"t know a d.a.m.n thing about me," I say coldly. The bouncer"s eyes flick to Nurrin, and she shifts, a little bit away from me. I want to drag her back, but it"d cause questions I don"t want to deal with.
He smiles and moves aside.
And we step into the Underground.
A dance floor has been set up in one half of the club-flashing lights and cheap beer is flowing, half-dressed girls dance on tables. A few couples are making out; one girl has her hand down her partner"s pants, toying with his erection.
Nurrin watches curiously, but I turn her away. Between the dance floor and the stalls selling goods, is a bar. A few working girls linger there, watching me, and this time, Nurrin draws closer, almost jealously.
I lead her past the bar and the illegal black market, deeper into the heart of the Underground. Here there"s a s.e.xual playground, where any fetish and appet.i.te can be satisfied. The music is replaced by low moans, the sound of chains rattling, and cries of pleasure-the scent of s.e.x hangs on the air. Her eyes are wide when she looks at me, and I shake my head. A sub being whipped by a leather-clad domme watches with lazy, pleasure-hazed eyes as I lead Nurrin past the kink club.
There"s another door, but this one is unmanned. I push it open, leading her into the fight pit.
Two men-a Walker and a Haven worker-are fighting. From the mess of their faces, they"ve been at it a while, but the crowd is still screaming, hysterical, driven by an urge for blood.
Nurrin watches for a few seconds as the Walker pummels the other man mercilessly. The worker drops to the ground after a particularly vicious blow, and the crowd boos as he shakes his head, trying to clear it. She shivers as the Walker stalks over and kicks him, her face unexpectedly pale. "Nurrin," I say, and her gaze snaps to me, revolted and pleading. "Eyes on me."
She nods, gritting her teeth, and I lead her through the crowd, punching a man when he throws a careless elbow that gets too close to Nurrin. We get caught in the melee of bettors exchanging money when the fight ends, and then we"re near the wall. I find the only door and knock once.
A tiny Asian girl is sitting on the desk, a black man standing beside it. I eye them, and my fingers twitch, anxious for my gun. She shouldn"t be here.
Finally, the little Asian looks up at me, a bored expression on her pale face. "What can the Blessed Order of the First do for you, Finn O"Malley?"
Chapter 5.
The Day the World Stood Still Everyone remembers the day the dead rose. Even those who had been small children can pinpoint where they were when the army hit the zombie horde outside of Atlanta. The world stopped, eyes trained on a five mile stretch between Atlanta and Newnan, watching while the entire f.u.c.king thing came crashing down around us.
I was with my parents-my father and his best friend sat side by side, watching on a tiny monitor as the horde from Atlanta slammed into the troops from Fort Benning and everything--every f.u.c.king thing we"d ever known or would know-stopped.
The Blessed Order says it began on Day One. When Emilie Milan sat up and ate the morgue attendant. But I was there. I was watching. I listened to the frantic calls, the screams of the soldiers as the virus in their blood reacted to the horde. The screams changing to moans when they were infected and joined the horde they were sent to destroy.
I heard it all.
I"ve heard a thousand stories since that day. A girl who lost her virginity while the zombies stormed Atlanta. A trucker who shot his children rather than let them face this world, and then carried that weight for another six years. A woman who baked an apple pie and sobbed as she listened to a newscast-her son had been in the ranks that changed.
People had been in cla.s.s, in church, in bas.e.m.e.nt bomb shelters.
Collin had been in a hospital, sitting next to his parents and newborn sister.
My story isn"t that different-I was with my family. I sat with the people who cared about me as the horde swarmed Atlanta and spread.
I played with my best friend under a desk when the dirty bombs. .h.i.t Atlanta, obliterating the fifth largest city in the United States.
We were playing hide and seek when millions died from the nerve gas that did nothing against the zombies.
I was hiding in a corner while the world crashed down and the battle for the East Coast began.
Chapter 6.
Negotiations with the Devil I stare at the High Priestess of the Order, her black hair stick straight. A startling swatch of white hair hangs over one eye. I can feel the press of Nurrin at my back, her bristling energy and anger, but she"s quiet. And the priestess doesn"t know who she is-I"ve always been very careful to make sure they don"t know who or what she is.
"I need medicine. My brother picked up a contact infection."
Her eye widens a little, but she doesn"t respond except, "I don"t know how that concerns me."
I let a cool smile turn my lips. People who survive a contact infection are rare, and the Order adores them-they hunt them almost as intently as they do Firsts. "Don"t play coy, Lori. It doesn"t suit you."
Anger sparkles in her eyes for a moment before it"s locked down and she lifts a delicate shoulder in a shrug. "You won"t give him to me. And I don"t need more cured. I need a First. Can you give me one of those?"
I feel Ren"s entire body pressed against my back. But she doesn"t react at all. I keep my voice flat. "If you don"t have your sacrifice, you won"t find one this late in the season. Maybe you"ve finally killed them all."
She makes an irritated face and shakes her head. "No. We have our records. We know there are more-we just can"t find them." Lori studies me. "Word from Haven 8"s High Priest was that they had a First."
Nurrin"s grip on my back tightens a little. I force a smile. "Then we"re one step closer to the Blessed cure-everyone in Haven 8 was killed when it fell."
Her eyes go wide. "What are you talking about?"
She doesn"t know-and it might be useful. "Information for medicine," I say. She makes an impatient noise, and I stand up, turning Nurrin.
"Stop," Lori snaps, her voice a whiplash of fury. She hates being one-upped, which is what makes it so d.a.m.n fun to annoy her.
"I don"t have time for you to play games, Priestess. And you know I don"t appreciate them."
She sniffs. "Fine. Tell me what you want."
"InsuSyntrix. Four three week courses."
"No information is worth that, O"Malley." Lori laughs.
I smile, lazy and confident. "Mine is. When you decide you"re interested, you can find me."
The black man takes a half step forward, but Lori stops him with a single hand. Neither says anything to me as I escort Nurrin out of the tiny room. Another fight has started, and I drag her into the crowd, tugging her until her back is pressed against my front. She"s stiff and furious, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s heaving under the material of her dress.
"We can"t leave-Lori is watching, and it"s safest if we enjoy the Underground before we make a departure."
"So we"ll watch men pummel each other until Lori loses interest?" she hisses. It"s the first thing she"s said since we entered the Underground, and I"m pleased to hear how steady her voice is.
"Unless something else in the Underground captured your interest," I say. She inhales sharply, licking her lips.
My d.i.c.k hardens, and there"s nothing I can do to keep it from her, not with her pressed against me. I"m not willing to let her go.
"What the h.e.l.l, Finn?" she whispers, furious.
"Chemical reaction, Ren. Nothing to worry about."
My words are dismissive, my tone condescending, but she twists, staring at me with curious, probing eyes. I see a question in them, but I don"t have an answer, and if she keeps staring at me, her lips inches from mine, I"ll kiss her and the consequences be d.a.m.ned.
"Eyes on the fight, little girl," I murmur. She smirks and looks back ahead.
I knew bringing her here was a risk. It wasn"t my first choice, but last night was too dangerous-the Order had everyone on edge Day One. The Underground, when I watched it from the outside, was deserted. No one was near it-and going there when it was so quiet would reek of desperation.
I had thought my only concern would be walking a First into the Order"s lair. But it"s not-there"s also the fact that I"m exposing her to something she"s never seen.
If Dustin"s done anything right as her friend, it"s been keeping her away from the Order-run vice clubs.
We wait through two fights-one I bet on, and after collecting our winnings, I draw her tight against my body and lead her from the fight hall.
She stops near the kink club. There"s a show happening-a girl is on the large wheel, two men behind her with floggers. Around them, the other club patrons are watching, lost in various states of s.e.x and desire. I slide a glance at her, curious about her reaction.
Her eyes are wide and watching, her breath catching in her throat, so still she almost trembles. Her nipples are hard little peaks, pressing against the red silk of her dress. It hits me hard-she likes it. The kink club that leave so many with a sour taste in their mouth-she"s intrigued.
For all that I"ve watched her for years, I didn"t expect that. And it makes keeping my hands off her even harder.
"Come on, Ren," I say hoa.r.s.ely. "Unless you"d like to join in, I think we"ve spent enough time here for the day."
A blush colors her cheeks, and she looks away. I wrap an arm around her and usher her out of the Underground.
Chapter 7.
Bad Decisions She trips along in her heels, and I bite back a sigh of irritation. Even knowing I"m the one who gave them to her doesn"t make me any happier that we"re still on the streets. Any other time, I"d have taken her out on my bike, but not in that d.a.m.n dress.
"Finn," she starts, and I cut her a look, glaring in the bright street lights.
Rebellion fires in her eyes, but she doesn"t continue. Not until we"re in my little house, the door shut behind us, locks triple checked.
I let out the breath I seem to have been holding, tension easing out of my shoulders. It"s like a weight has slipped off of them, and I can relax.
"O"Malley."
And just like that, it"s back. I straighten, forcing myself to blankness, and turn to arch a brow at her. "What can I do for you, Nurrin?"
"I want some idea of what the h.e.l.l we"re doing," she says. "I need to know why the f.u.c.k you think taking me into an Order"s lair-to their f.u.c.king Priestess-was such a b.l.o.o.d.y brilliant idea. If she had known, I"d be dead right now!"
I move without thinking, yet another bad decision in a night full of them. I shove into her personal s.p.a.ce, and she takes a half step back. "Do you think I"d put you in danger? Do you think Collin would let you go with me if he thought I"d risk your life?" I demand.
"I don"t think anything," she hisses. "I don"t know anything-you won"t tell me anything. You expect to march me into a death trap and then give me nothing. I want to know what the h.e.l.l we"re doing-Lori will make a demand. The Order does nothing for free, and the meds you"re asking for-" She laughs, a sharp, disbelieving noise. "What are you willing to give her for that medicine? How high a price are Collin"s and Dustin"s lives going to carry?"
I make a disgusted noise and step away. It"s either that or kiss her senseless. "Quit thinking so much, Nurrin. I won"t risk your life-not as long as I need something from you. I"ll do whatever Lori asks, because I won"t risk Collin. Is that enough honesty for you?"
"No," she snaps.
I smirk. Turn away and walk into my room. "That"s all you"re going to get."
She stalks after me. "Tomorrow? What are we doing tomorrow? How long are we going to wait, Finn?"
My name on her lips is a curse and so d.a.m.n s.e.xy I can"t stand it. I pull my shirt over my head and reach for my pants. Clearly, s.e.x and nudity won"t scare Ren away-but I"m too tired to give a f.u.c.k about this right now.