Page 49 of Redemption
I still can’t believe this is real.
Sometimes I look at him and wonder if I somehow bumped timelines, shifted the time-space continuum so off-kilter that I rewrote most of the last decade. But I know that’s not possible. At the very least, it’s not probable. And if I go along with the rational part of my brain, then that means that two chapters of my life are about to collide.
I’ll admit, I loved Dare once. A long time ago. Cherished him enough to throw away everything I knew to take a chance at spending the rest of my life with him. Fat chance that was. He threw my affection right back in my face and left me standing there at that TSA checkpoint, gawking in his direction like a sad,Godforsaken Roman statue. Didn’t even look back to see me fall to my knees and cry my ass off for the next half hour.
It’ll be over my dead body before I even get close to letting that happen again.
No, I’ll just use him to get me to where I need to be, and then we’ll separate just like he intended all those years ago.“Do what’s best for me.”That’s what he said. And being with Hawk, Cole, and Jax? That’s what is best for me.
Done and done.
Double-mint-me scuffs her shoe on the ground, making a loose stone fly off into the embankment on the side of the road. Thinking that looks satisfying enough, I do the same. The rock I kick goes a lot farther, flying off into the trees and pinging off the trunks before settling back on the ground. My frustration with everything that’s occurred since yesterday, however, doesn’t ebb one bit with my explosive vexation. Go figure. Dare, walking on the other side of me, doesn’t even acknowledge my frustration.
Of course, he doesn’t.
He’s an ass.
But, seriously! All this fucking walking and all the bullshit we went through to get to Tryon Palace, and for what? To get shot? To get taken by a bunch of culty dicks? The world has already shat a seven-ton brick of negative karma all over humanity. Why can’t we just catch a break for once?
Underdogs deserve a happy ending, too, dammit!!!
Sadie, bless her little canine heart, nudges her nose against the tightened fist hanging at my side, licking it for good measure until my hand releases its tension. I’m not sure what happened, but I’m oddly relieved she didn’t get taken with the others—God only knows what those assholes would have done ifthey found her—but I’m not sure how Jax is managing if she’s with me. She’s his service dog. Her sole job is to look out for him and all his PTSD symptoms.
Without her... I can’t imagine what he must be going through.
“Come on, we’ve got a long way to go before we get to the safehouse.” His soft voice pulls me from my inner turmoil. It’s soothingly familiar yet annoying at the same time. A paradoxical conundrum that I have no time to unravel.
“And where exactly is this safehouse you’re referring to?”
He hesitates a second before responding. “The best one that I know of—the one that’s going to have the most gear and supplies stored there—would be just past Phoenix... closer to Jacksonville.”
Oh, hell to the no.
The second he mentions Jacksonville I stop in my tracks, refusing to go any farther with this imbecile if that’s his intended destination.
No. No. No. NO. NOOOO way am I willingly taking my ass back there. He’s gonna have to throw me over his shoulder and carry me kicking and screaming if he wants me to go back there, and I’ll be a literal pain in his ass the entire way. These fists of fury will pound his annoyingly perfect butt every step of every mile. BOOTY BRUISES FOR DAYS, I TELL YOU!
My shadow clone goes over to his side and kneels down behind him, throwing a few jabs in his direction, her fists inches from his ass. After a few punches, she remains kneeling behind him, mesmerizingly scanning every inch of said ass for far too long. After getting her fill, she licks her lips and takes a bite ofair, shaking her head side to side like a rabid dog with a bone while growling fiercely at her invisible kill.
“Knock it off!”I shout out from behind clenched teeth, getting her attention and stopping... whatever the fuck she thinks she’s doing back there. Dare notices my outburst as well, and they both turn at the same time, looking at me like I’m insane. It’s a complete picture of furrowed brows, bombastic side-eyes, and my psychotic twin drawing a circle to the side of her head while sticking her tongue out at me. I grind my teeth at the motion and heave a frustrated sigh from the very depths of my patience that’s all but lost at this point.
Placing my hands on my hips, I bring my swelling insanity back on topic. “Jacksonville is swamped with zombies. Like, literally overflowing with them. Hell no. Heeeelllll no, I’m not marching my ass back through that nonsense. Nope. I’ll do this on my own if that’s the case. Phoenix Rising is between us and Zombieland. No need to go past it if we don’t need to. And I certainly don’t need to, thank you very much.”
“You have no choice, Al. We have to regroup. Get supplies. Make a plan. If you go back to Phoenix Rising and walk in like you own the place, they’ll take you, just like they wanted. And, with your barely-there strategy, you’re about to make it all too easy for them to do so.”
“Uh, I can be sneaky.” The time I made it right past Jax to get those raspberries comes to mind. He didn’t even see me in all my sneaky sneakiness. Straight-up Double-O-Seven up in this bitch.
Darius crosses his arms in front of his chest in response, skepticism blatantly taking over his stupid face. Fucker. I’ll show him. “I can! Look, I’ll creep in, find the guys, and then creepback out. Boom. Done. Fuck off, Kool-Aid worshipers. Your extraterrestrial savior will be here soon enough.”
Me-two purses her lips, smacking them while acting like she’s twirling gum around her finger. “He doesn’t look convinced...”
“FUCK OFF, YOU! LET ME FIGHT MY OWN BATTLES!”
Not letting my lovely little outburst deter his stance, he tilts his head, placing him in full condescending mode.
I hate you.
“Ok, so, let’s say we go ahead and use your plan. I assume you know where they’re being held? In which building out of the dozens they have in operation? On which floor? Or if they’re even still alive to be rescued?”
