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“Thank you, thank you, a thousand times thank you.” I kissed her cheek and raced to Mackenzie’s side.
“—must be a light switch, because every time I look at you, I’m turned on,” Chartreuse was saying.
No. Just no. Pickup lines were never okay. “We’ve gotta go,” I told her.
Chartreuse frowned. “But she just got here.”
Relief radiated from Mackenzie. “Sorry, boys. It’s been... Yeah.” She said no more as she tugged me toward the door.
“Hey!” Reeve called. “No one said ’bye to me.”
I waved, saying, “’Bye. We love you!” over my shoulder.
She blew me a kiss.
Trina laughed at something Lucas said, unconcerned by our departure.
Mackenzie and I stepped into the wintry afternoon. The sun was shining but the air was chilled. Shoppers wove in and out of nearby boutiques, each lost in their own little worlds.
“Thank you,” Mackenzie said with a shudder. “The only guy I had any interest in never spoke a word to me.”
“Let me guess. Mr. Knuckle Scars.”
“Yeah. How’d you know?”
“We have similar taste.” Proof: we’d both dated Cole. “He would have been my choice, too.” And not just for his rugged appeal.
Every slayer in the war against Z’s had lost loved ones to bites and battle wounds, and the sorrow and grief tended to build barriers around our hearts. More and more, it became clear that the strong had a better chance of survival; Knuckle Scars had definitely been the strongest of the bunch.
Shockingly enough, Frosty—who had lost more than most—was the exception to my theory. He’d fallen for Kat despite her kidney disease. But I wasn’t going to think about her illness and the pain she was—and would be—forced to endure. I’d break down and be forced to compartmentalize, shoving the heartbreak into a deep, dark corner of my mind, to be dealt with later.
My compartments were almost full.
I’d told myself I’d stop doing it, stop locking away the hard emotional crap and finally deal with my feelings, but I’d fallen back into the habit...and honestly, I wasn’t in any hurry to change.
“Where are we going?” Mackenzie settled behind the wheel of her truck. “It’s too early for patrol.”
Oh, yeah. We had to patrol for zombies this evening. We’d be with Gavin the man-whore—another one of my pet projects, despite his warped sense of humor—and the mostly silent Bronx. Time was limited.
“We’re going to Tatty’s,” I said and explained why.
“I’d advise you to play a little hard to get, but I swear, it doesn’t matter what you do. Cole thinks it’s the most adorable thing ever. It makes me want to stab you both in the eye.”
A few weeks ago, she would have spat those words at me like weapons. Because the moment Cole had displayed an interest in me—which had been at moment one, thank you very much—she’d hated me.
My sparkling personality had eventually won her over.
Fine. Personality had nothing to do with it. We were soldiers in a war, and we were fighting for the same side. A bond had formed.
“If you stab us both in the eye, we will wear matching patches and pretend to be pirates,” I said. “You’ll wish you’d stabbed yourself instead.”
She shuddered. “You still have an evil side, I see.”
“Yes, and your tears are the food she craves.”
Mackenzie almost cracked a smile.
I scanned the parking lot when we reached our destination, fighting disappointment when I couldn’t locate Cole’s Jeep.
Maybe he’d walked? You know, for exercise. As if he didn’t get enough at his gym, running the treadmill, lifting weights and boxing in the ring. But he wasn’t inside, and my disappointment intensified.
I could call or text him, I supposed, but this wasn’t just girls’ day out. It was boys’ day out, too. He could still be with Gavin, Bronx and new-to-the-team Justin. Well, new again. Long story.
“Do you have a few hours to spare?” I asked Mackenzie.
“Is my other choice heading back to Choco Loco?”
“Yes.”
“Then I do.”
I headed to the back of the shop with Artist Guy, the man who’d done my other tattoos. There were two, one on each wrist; the reason he already had my permission slip on file. The first one he’d given me was the white rabbit to represent my sister, Emma. She might be dead, but she still came to visit me. The second, a pair of swords in the shape of a cross to represent my parents.
“Tell me what you want,” he said as I settled into the seat.
I’d thought about this for quite some time. Everything we felt always found a way to manifest outwardly. Smiles, frowns. Laugh lines. Scowl lines. This was my way of showing my love for the family and friends I’d lost.
“To start, I want a phoenix on the back of my neck.” This would represent Cole. I hadn’t lost him—and wouldn’t!—but he still deserved a place of honor. With his help, I’d risen from the ashes of my past and forged a new future. “Then I want a pair of boxing gloves above the daggers.” They would represent Pops, my grandfather, who’d been killed by zombie toxin. As a teenager, he’d trained in the ring, and throughout the rest of his life, he’d taken hard knocks with grace and bravery.
Artist Guy got to work, and though I’d done this before and had known what to expect, it still hurt. Bad. By the time he finished, my neck and arm throbbed incessantly.
“Well? What do you think?” he asked.
I studied the boxing gloves and smiled. They looked like they were made of tattered brown leather, with a bowed string holding them together. “Perfection.”
“As if I could do anything less.”
Men and their egos.
I approached the full-length mirror hanging on the wall. Hand trembling, I lifted my hair and turned to the side while glancing over my shoulder. My breath hitched. The bird’s head was light green and came up to my hairline. The wings were a rainbow of colors, each crackling with golden flames, wrapping around both sides of my neck, stretching toward my ears. The belly was a mix of red and gold and centered on the ridges of my spine, while the tail was shaped and shaded like peacock feathers, stopping between my shoulder blades.
“It’s...it’s...” I gasped. “I don’t even have words.”
“I know,” he replied. “I’m amazing. It’s the best work you’ve ever seen. Blah, blah.”
Cole was going to flip out.
“You remember how to prevent infection?” he asked.
“Yes.” I paid him and joined Mackenzie in the lobby. Her reaction to the ink was similar to mine. Total shock and awe.
“As much as I’d love to stay and stare, we’d better go.” She gestured to the outside world. “Darkness is rolling in.”
I glanced out the window, and sure enough, the sunlight was muted. Well, crap. Night came earlier and earlier. We hardly had time for rest and relaxation anymore.
When had we ever?
But we were trying. All slayers—including our mascots, Reeve and Kat—had recently enrolled in a home-study program, leaving the classroom behind. With our schedules, we’d been missing class or, when we had shown up, falling asleep. Our grades had been slipping. Now we had a little control.
Out of habit, I searched the sky for a rabbit-shaped cloud. Anytime my sister noticed zombies stirring in their nests, preparing to brave the wild and hunt a meal, she created one just for me. Right now, there wasn’t one. Good.
Tonight I would go through one neighborhood after another, searching for Z’s, protecting homes. If all went well—and that’s how it was looking—I’d finish around 3:00 a.m. Boys’ day out would be officially over.
“Let’s go,” I said.
We piled into Mackenzie’s truck and headed to the gym, where we would begin. Along the way, I texted Cole.
U’ll B home 2nite, yeah?
His response came lightning-fast. Yeah. U got plans 4 me?
Me: If there aren’t any Z’s 2 fight, guess I’ll have 2 settle 4 getting my hands on U.
Cole: Settle away. I’ll B w8ing.
Me: BTW, I have surprise 4 U.
Cole: Naked surprise?
Me: Better.
Cole: Nothing better.
Me: Prepare to have UR mind blown!
Me: I MEAN CHANGED. CHANGED.
Cole: Hahaha. I prefer blown. & right back at ya, babe.
I stored my phone away.
“You’re practically glowing with happiness.” Mackenzie pretended to gag. “Tell me you’re still capable of killing zombies and that you’re not considering spraying them with rainbow dust.”
As if I’d waste rainbow dust on zombies. “Don’t you worry about me, love bug. You want to know why there’s no sign of life on Mars? Because I’ve been there.”
She tried to hide her grin. “If you tell me Death once had a near–Ali Bell experience, I think I’ll risk a little pirate role-playing and just go ahead and stab your eye.”
“Why would you want to eye-gouge the girl who’s counted to infinity—twice? The girl who can win a game of Connect Four in only three moves? The girl who can start a fire by rubbing two ice cubes together?”
“Definitely going to eye-gouge you,” she muttered.
I laughed. “All’s I’m saying is that I’m ready for tonight...no matter what happens.”
Chapter 2 (#ulink_b7bce55a-cf9e-5a6f-a9cb-5745e93d2ad0)
BY THE SKIN AND THE TEETH
It was 3:04 a.m., and, as expected, there was no sign of zombies. I was now off duty, but not expected home until 7:00 a.m.
Life couldn’t get any more perfect.
Oh, wait. It could. Mackenzie and Bronx lived with Cole and his dad, Mr. Tyler Holland, and they’d decided to spend the rest of the night at the gym. I hadn’t said a word about my plans with Cole, but my ear-to-ear smile might have given me away.
Gavin offered to take me home. Ever the gentleman, he opened the passenger side of his car for me.
“I’ve got people to do and things to see.” He motioned me inside. “Hop to, cupcake.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
He meant that with every fiber of his being. Shouldn’t laugh. I adored the guy, but I wasn’t blind to all of his faults.
One of my faults: I found every one of his charming.
He settled behind the wheel and gunned the engine, the ice on the window melting. He eased onto the road and said, “So, when do you get your license?”
“Next week.” There’d been a time I’d wanted to vomit blood at even the thought of controlling the metal death trap known as car, but battling an evil zombie-twin version of myself—don’t ask—kind of put things in perspective. “Why? Are you tired of chauffeuring me around?”
“Nope. Just want to make sure I move to another state in time. You’re a tragic accident waiting to happen.” He cursed. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to go there.”
“Don’t worry about it. We both know I make the geriatric crowd look like NASCAR champions.” I had a love/hate relationship with speed. I loved slow and hated fast.
“Exactly my point,” Gavin said. “There’s such a thing as road rage, and I has it.”
“You has a whole lot of other things, too,” I muttered.
“True, and they’re all awesome.”
I rolled my eyes. “By the way, you’re not taking me home. You’re taking me to Cole’s.” At least, I hoped. I texted him, praying he hadn’t fallen asleep.
No Z’s, I typed. U ready 4 me?
His reply came within seconds. Ready? Ali-gator, U have no idea. Hope UR in the mood 2 play Hungry Zombie & Helpless Human, because I want a nibble. How soon can U get here?
Me, my heart fluttering with excitement: 10 minutes.
Cole: Make it 5.
