Chapter 3
HUNTER
It takes me less than ten minutes to get from the alley to the apartment with Fiona slung over my shoulder.
When she fell from the bin, she banged her head against the wall. It’s not bleeding too badly, but I need to tend to the wounds before germs can taint it, which is a very real possibility with the dead rising.
She’s so tiny and malnourished, she feels almost weightless. It’s hard to imagine that she was able to get by for so long on her own.
I cover the couch with a clean blanket and place her on top of it. She doesn’t rouse, which is good because I don’t need her fighting me with what I have to do next. Of course, the worry of a concussion or worse rattles my brain, but there’s nothing I can do about that.
I still can’t believe she attacked me. I can understand that she might want to have a go at the apocalypse on her own, and she has more reason than most to hate men, but in the short time we’d spent together, I hadn’t hurt her.
I grab a pair of shears and start cutting her clothes off so I can check for bites. She’s dirty, and I could play connect the dots with all the bruises on her pale, white flesh. Abrasions are everywhere, but there’s no sign she’s been bit.
Her hair is now dull copper from dirt and grime, and her nails need scrubbing. Nothing a good bath won’t fix.
Staring at her naked form, I study my emotions. The men of the Keep are wildly protective of their women, and not just their own. Gage would scour the earth searching for Suki if she went missing. The same can be said for any of the men.
But not for me. That’s why I needed to find Fiona. The feelings I get when I’m around her are different in a way I can’t make sense of.
The truth is, I don’t know how I feel when I look at Fiona, which unsettles me, because typically when I look at a naked woman, I feel nothing.
I’m not like the Keepers, but there is something inside me that stirs when I think of Fiona. I just don’t know what it is.
I grab my first aid kit to clean the wound on her head. As I apply the antiseptic, she winces, her eyelids fluttering.
“Where…”She tries to pull herself up, so I place a hand on her shoulder to stop her.
“You’re going to want to stay supine until I’m done treating your wounds.”
Her body jerks at the sound of my voice, and what was slow, sluggish movements turn sharp and feral. Realizing she’s naked, she grabs the blanket I have underneath her and twists it around her body.
“Get away from me!” she snaps.
While I could tie her up and patch her wound, her fear won’t help me understand the way I’m feeling. It’ll only cloud things.
“You have a head wound I need to treat.”
“Over my dead body!” Her green eyes are wild and frantic, which makes me curious. Does she fear me because of what I did to Madam Levy?
“If you’re going to act stubborn, you may end up getting your wish.”
She scans the room. “Where are we?”
“My place.”
“Let me go!”
“I’m not touching you.”
“I mean, let me leave this place!”
“Why would you want to? It’s safe, there’s electricity, clean clothes, food, a warm bath. It’s a luxury suite as far as apocalypse living goes.”
“Becauseyouare in it.”
I furrow my brow, annoyed by her unwarranted hatred. It’s not so much that I want her to like me, but I would like to understand what exactly drew her ire.
