Page 19 of Demon Shock

I talked about the fields, the things we made like the pants and boots I wore, and how we’d honed our fighting skills to defend ourselves against the hounds.

“I think I’d like to see a challenge,” she said. “It sounds interesting.”

The idea of Ava wanting to watch me spar with one of my brothers sent a thrill through me. Repeat lifted his head to look at me, and I tried to will my throbbing cock into a relaxed state—an impossibility with Ava’s sweet scent filling the cab.

“If we’re worried about losing the road, why aren’t we taking the main highway?” Ava asked after it started snowing.

“This way will take us around Duluth,” I said. “The highway would take us directly into it.”

“Gotcha.” She sucked her lower lip into her mouth, and Repeat got off my lap to lie next to me. I quickly set Pete there to cover my reaction to what she was doing to her mouth.

“Is there any chance we can check my family’s house?” she asked after a moment. “I just need to know if they left a message for me like the people did in that house in Silver Bay. If you have a map, I can show you where it is.”

I was willing to search any home she wanted, but I knew better than to promise to checkherhome, especially if it was still in the city.

“When we stop, I’ll ask Bram to show you the maps we have.”

“Thank you, Gyrik. So much. I know that’s not a ‘yes,’ but it wasn’t a ‘no’ either, and I appreciate that.”

Thank you,Gyrik.

I grinned as her pretty words of thanks repeated in my mind.

The snow was getting deeper as it fell thickly from the sky, and I could no longer see our tracks from the day before, but that didn’t matter. The dips on the side of the road made it easy enough to find the center.

I knew Bram was having difficulty navigating, though, despite my presence a hundred feet ahead of him, when he flashed his lights.

Pivoting, I ran backward to wave for him to stop then sprinted past their truck to check on Ava and Zach. I hadn’t liked leaving Zach with her, but I hadn’t wanted her to drive alone, either.

Since Zach had promised me weeks ago that he had no interest in women older than himself, I knew he was the safest of the three to put with Ava.

Ava rolled down the window when she saw me approach.

“Something wrong?” she asked.

“It’s getting too hard to see, and I don’t think the snow will stop soon. I’ll find a house for us and take you there. Stay inside with Zach until I come back.”

I glanced at Zach, not liking that he needed to stay despite his promise.

He grinned at me. “Don’t worry. I’m being helpful and telling Ava all about you and your brothers.”

That didn’t reassure me. Zach thought everything was funny, and I wasn’t sure what stories he was telling. He wouldn’t tell her about our desperation for women, would he?

“That’s the blink I was talking about,” Zach said. “It means he’s either confused or not sure how to answer. You can ask what’s wrong or just offer more of an explanation to see if that clears things up. It usually does.” He looked at me. “See? I’m helpful.”

I grunted, and as I turned away, I heard him say, “That’s like an agree to disagree in most cases.”

When I glanced back, her window was up, and they were still talking. Perhaps Zach was being helpful, but I still didn’t want to give up any more time with her than necessary. So I sprinted away from the vehicles and watched for an opening off the road that might indicate a driveway.

I found a home several minutes later.

The locked door was a good sign. I walked through the cold rooms and noted the undisturbed state of everything as I checked all the usual hiding places. Since the smart ones had died a few weeks ago, the infected didn’t hide anymore. They still responded to sound, though, and sometimes light. So, I didn’t move quietly.

As soon as I verified the house was safe, I returned to lead the vehicles back to it. While they parked, I watched Ava, anticipating spending the rest of the day with her.

She was looking at the house as she turned off the engine and gathered Pete in her arms. I jogged over and tapped on her window.

“It is safe to go inside,” I said when she looked at me.

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