Page 59 of Glass Rose
Throat wounds don’t kill them, only slow them down.
Zombie 101.
The infected tackles me, its weight driving me to the ground. Rotting teeth snap inches from my face, held at bay only by my forearm against its slit throat. With my free hand, I fumble for the knife that fell during the impact, fingers closing around the handle just as the creature’s strength begins to overpower mine.
The blade enters under its chin, driving upward into the brain. Its body convulses once, twice, then goes still.
I shove the corpse off, gasping for breath. Gavin stands over the other ranger’s bodies, his expression thunderous.
He stalks toward me. “What the fuck were you thinking?”
I climb to my feet, wiping blood from my face with my sleeve. “You’re welcome.”
“That was reckless and stupid.” He grabs my arms, eyes blazing. “It could have bitten you.”
“It didn’t.” I meet his glare with my own. “And I wasn’t going to stand there and watch it take a chunk out of your back.”
“I can handle myself.”
“So can I.” I shrug out of his grip. “And I’m not going to apologize for protecting you, just like you wouldn’t apologize for protecting me.”
“It’s different.”
“How? Because you’re some enhanced super-soldier, and I’m just a scientist?” My voice rises despite the danger of noise. “I’m not going to be a burden, Gavin. I’m not going to hide in the warehouse while you risk your life. If that’s what you want, then you picked the wrong fucking woman to share your bed with.”
His eyes flick between mine. “I don’t want you hurt.”
“And I don’t want you hurt either.” I drop the bloody knife back into its place on my thigh. “That’s kind of the whole point. We watch each other’s backs. We protect each other. That’s how this works. And not only that. I need—I want you in ways that have nothing to do with survival.”
His stare lingers, something shifting in his expression. Then, one of his hands cups the back of my neck, hauling me in for a brutal kiss.
Adrenaline mixed with fear and something deeper neither of us is ready to name fuels the desperation of it.
The rotting corpses, the danger, everything but the heat of his body against mine fades. His hand tangles in my hair, tilting my head back as his tongue sweeps inside, claiming me with a ferocity that makes my knees weak. I moan into his mouth, nestling closer, wanting to crawl inside him.
His free hand slides down my back, gripping my ass and hauling me up. I wrap my legs around his waist as he pins me against the rough bark of a nearby tree.
“Thank you,” he murmurs against my lips.
My fingers curl into the fabric of his shirt. “For what?”
“For giving a shit whether I live or die.”
I kiss him again, softer this time. “I’m tired of the distance. Of waking up alone. Of this wall between us.”
“It’s complicated.”
“Everything’s complicated now.” I glance around at the corpses littering the forest floor. “Doesn’t mean we have to make it harder.”
The radio at Gavin’s hip crackles to life. “Easternperimeter clear,” John’s voice reports. “Three down. Heading back. Report status.”
Gavin puts me down and unclips the radio. “Northeast secure. Ten neutralized. Returning to base.”
“Copy that,” John answers. “Good work.”
Gavin clips the radio back to his belt, turning his attention back to me. My heart pounds with something dangerously close to hope.
“Let’s go back.” He offers his hand.
