“You gonna clean someone’s house?” I teased.

Bryce unscrewed the bristle end and then picked up a knife. “Spear.”

I nodded and smiled. “Impressive.”

He winked at me, and then we met everyone else at the front of the store.

Joey had several boxes of condoms, a first-aid kit, matches, a box of trash bags, and four bottles of water in his arms.

Bryce saw the condoms and was instantly defensive. “Seriously?”

Joey wasn’t fazed. “Each one can hold up to two liters of water. Seriously.”

Bryce’s shoulders relaxed, and then he looked to me. “We can just wheel this to the Bug. I’m sure no one will say anything.”

“Funny,” I said.

As we returned to the car and practiced our Tetris skills loading it up with our finds, the boys began talking about searching the houses and garages for gas cans. Joey suggested that if we had to, we could syphon gas from one of the vehicles.

“Depending on what we find and how quickly, we’re talking about spending a few nights here.”

“No,” Ashley said. “Miranda, tell them. We need to get to Dad’s.”

I looked to Bryce. “Dad is probably worried sick about us.”

Joey didn’t wait for Bryce to answer. “We’re not going anywhere until we get gas, and I think we can all agree that we need more than just a tank full. Let’s be smart about this. We have resources here. Let’s use them before we move on.”

Bryce made a face. “When we found you, you’d run out of gas.”

“Exactly,” Joey said. “Learn from my mistake. It’s no fun being stuck in a car with those things trying to get in, and this car is a convertible. It won’t protect us.”

“Those things can’t even work a swinging door,” Bryce snapped.

“You wanna risk it?” Joey said.

Bryce looked at me, and then back to Joey, shaking his head. “No.”

“It’s settled, then. We search until we can fill the tank and as much extra as we can. You guys can break up into groups if you don’t want to let the girls search alone.”

“I’ll go by myself,” I said.

“No,” Bryce responded instantly.

“I’m not helpless. I can handle a gun.”

Bryce reached for my fingers. “Maybe I don’t want to go by myself.” He used his most charming smile, the one I could never resist. I nodded, and his hand squeezed mine.

Joey rubbed his neck. “First thing’s first. We need to set up camp. The ideal place would be away from other houses. On the outskirts of town, maybe.”

“Okay. That’s like two blocks away,” Ashley said.

“Let’s walk. We’ll find something,” I said.

Joey kept talking as we walked. “Several exits. Good visibility.”

“Now you’re just being picky,” I said.

Joey smiled at me. I tried not to, but I smiled back.

Ashley was right. It only took about twenty minutes to find a location that fit Joey’s description. It was a yellow house on the end of a long line of houses, but it had a large field in front of and behind it, and there were two lots between it and the next house. It also had a fenced-in backyard and the small windows running along the ground screamed basement.

We climbed the steps to the porch, and I knocked. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy. “What?”

“Let me clear it first, drop off what we have, and then we can go back for the rest.”

Bryce held his arm out to his side, gesturing for Joey to go in. I made a face at him. Joey was just trying to keep us safe, and Bryce was being kind of a dick about it.

Joey was inside for quite a while. Just when I thought about mentioning that we should go in and check on him, he appeared in the doorway.

“It’s clear.”

“You have blood on you,” Cooper said. “I mean, more than before.”

Joey pulled up his shirt to wipe his face. A full set of abs was revealed for just a second before he let his shirt fall back down into place. “Well . . . it’s clear now.”

“I didn’t hear your gun,” Bryce said.

“I used a fork.”

Cooper nodded, an impressed smile flashing across his face. “Well played.”

Chapter Sixteen

Nathan

“KIDS?” I ASKED.

“The corner house. Four . . . no, make that five. Three boys and two girls. Teenagers, by the looks of ’em. They’re alive.”

I lowered my gun and motioned for Zoe to stay in the house. “Then we should probably introduce ourselves.”

As I crossed the street and walked down the block, I tried to keep my posture relaxed, and my gun down. I could only see one kid, one of the boys, his dark hair wiry. He was a ball of testosterone and muscles like I was at that age.

I stopped on the street corner and held up my hand. “Hey there. We’re friendly. No need to worry.”

The boy didn’t speak, he just watched me. Another girl, blond, pale, and exceedingly beautiful, took a step out from behind him, her eyes fluttering between her people and me and Walter.

Walter walked up beside me and stopped.

“Are they from Shallot?” I asked.

“Nope.”

“Uh,” I began. “You guys okay?”

Another girl stepped out. This one was shorter, with long, auburn hair. Her brown eyes looked right through me. “We can’t get the pumps at the gas station to work.”

“You’re out of gas?” I asked.

The kids looked at each other. They were either really smart and didn’t want me stealing their ride, or they were too scared to speak. I didn’t think for a second the latter was the case for the redhead. I doubted she’d ever hesitated to speak what was on her mind in her life.

Walter’s screen door slammed and I turned to see Zoe standing next to Joy. She clearly wanted to leave the safety of the porch to be closer to me, but Joy kept a gentle hand on Zoe’s shoulder. I couldn’t hear what she’d said, but it seemed to calm my daughter.

I turned back to the kids. “You guys just passing through, then?”

“Yes, but like I said, we need gas. The pumps at the gas station aren’t working,” Red said. “Do either of you know anything about it?”

I took mental notes of everyone in their group. The tallest one had a nice face. The second tallest looked like he’d had some military training. I could tell by the tall kid’s shoes and his hands that he was a rich kid, but his eyes said he was a good kid. The other boy looked like a jock, possibly a frat boy. He watched the soldier and the redhead a lot. The soldier was the one to watch for sure, although the other two could definitely do some damage. Even with all the muscle and manpower, it was the redhead that seemed to be the boss. Oddly, she seemed to be the most trusting out of the five.

I looked to Walter. “I need to fill up myself.” I looked to the group. “I’m traveling with my daughter, Zoe,” I said, gesturing to the porch. “We’re leaving soon. I’m looking for a place out of the way. Someplace safe.”

One of the boys smiled at Zoe and waved. I stared him down, and he immediately righted his posture. “I have a little sister about her age,” he explained.

“This is pretty out of the way. Where are you all headed?” I asked.

They all looked at each other again. They had a destination in mind. It must have been good if they were protecting it.

“We can help ya with the gas,” Walter said, “in exchange for helping Nathan and Zoe to a safer place. You have my word that he’s a good man. I don’t really want them to leave, to be honest, but he’s right. They need to be farther away from those things.”

They all watched us, especially Red and the soldier.

“We’ll think about it,” she said, turning and leading the rest away.

They left us, walking two by two except for the soldier, who brought up the rear. The redhead was with the tallest, and the blonde was with the jock. I wondered where the soldier fit, and then when I saw them all crowd into a Volkswagen Bug, I really wondered where he fit.