Page 48 of Dyana
“Your point?”
“No point, just an observation.” Derrick studied my progress on Cora’s hair. “You know, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the short hair, but I like it. You look hot.” The adoration in his eyes when he looked at Cora made me smile. If I had hacked it all off, he still would have thought she was hot. The chickens started raising hell, and Derrick immediately looked toward the coop to check on his precious babies. “Dammit, Dyana! Your cat has a fucking death wish!”
I turned to see Killer climbing the chicken coop, looking for a way in. “Don’t you hurt him!” I yelled as Derrick took off to save the chickens.
“I wouldn’t worry,” Cora said, “Evan made sure that the coop is impenetrable. Killer isn’t getting in.
I watched as Derrick plucked Killer from the coop and then cradled him like a baby as he scolded him before I turned back toCora to finish her hair. “How do you like it?” I asked when I was done.
Cora ran her fingers through her hair and grinned at me. “It’s perfect!” She smiled as she nodded toward something behind me. “Looks like you finished just in time, too.”
I turned to see Jack walking into the yard. “Where have you been?” I demanded.
His twinkling smirk told me he was up to something. “Come on a date with me tomorrow and I’ll show you.”
“A date?” I asked dumbly.
“Yeah, a date. You do remember how those work, right? Two people who are attracted to each other, perhaps even romantically involved, go out with the express purpose of spending time together. It usually involves some sort of activity and a meal.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “I know what a date is.”
“Then why did you ask?”
I huffed in exasperation. “Remind me why I love you again.”
Jack grinned at my declaration like he had never doubted my love for him. He slid his finger into my belt loop and tugged me into his arms. “Because I’m impossibly charming, I was your first, and you can’t imagine life without me.”
“That last one might be a bit exaggerated,” I teased.
“Was that a yes?”
“Yes, I’ll go out on a date with you.”
“Good. Cause you were going either way.” Jack nipped my neck, so I pushed him away from me and started back toward Cora. I heard the sound of baby babble coming through the trees and smiled as Trent appeared with Johnny in his arms. My smile fell when I saw Trent’s face.
“A small group found us. Remi is fighting them off!”
“Where?” I asked as I started running toward the trees, knives drawn.
“Straight through about ten yards or so,” he replied as Cora scooped Johnny from his arms and ran inside.
I took off through the trees, and it didn’t take long to hear the sounds of zombies. And from the ruckus behind me, I wasn’t the only one running to help Remi. I crested a hill and ran smack into the group. They were just as surprised to see me as I was to see them, and being alive, I had the advantage of reacting quicker and planted my knives into the two closest zombies. A small group may have been misleading. There were about ten to fifteen zombies.
Jack and Derrick joined the fray, and together we cut through the group. Where the fuck was Remi? I hadn’t caught sight of him yet, and I should have. I didn’t want to think the worst, but I was beginning to get nervous.
“Remi!” I jumped at Trent’s hoarse scream. I hadn’t realized he had joined us. The terror in his voice was evident, and so was his distraction. His scream caught a zombie’s attention, but Trent was so busy searching for Remi that he hadn’t noticed.
“Trent!” I yelled as I threw one of my knives at the zombie’s head and prayed I didn’t miss and kill Trent instead. Thankfully, the knife hit its mark, and Trent turned toward my yell just as the zombie fell.
His eyes widened in shock. “Thanks. That was close.”
“Too fucking close,” I replied as I trotted over to get my knife. “Stay alert or go back home.” I jumped back into the fight, grumbling to myself. Men. When we were down to only two, I paused to let Jack and Derrick take them out since they were closer and scanned the forest. We still hadn’t seen any sign of Remi.
“Remi!” Trent yelled again.
Silence fell with the last two zombies, and we all held our breath as we waited for an answer. The seconds ticked by, and with every one, my dread grew. I didn’t want to go back and tellCora we lost one of her men. And looking at Trent, I wasn’t sure he’d survive the loss, either.
“Over here!” Remi shouted.
