My heart thumped as the need to get moving ripped through me.
I stepped up to the first door and tried the handle, pressing my cheek to the wood as I whispered, “Liv?”
No response. No seconds to waste. I strode to the next room and kept alert for sounds behind me, hoping I found her before the gang showed up to give the building a once-over. I tried the same routine with the second door and came up empty again. By the time I reached the fourth room on the left, I was almost convinced I’d imagined the sound.
I rested my cheek against the door and whispered, “Querida.” A plea, a prayer. I just needed to hear her voice.
A shuffling movement came from inside. Corpse or human, I had no idea. My heart pounded. My breaths came faster. I knew there was a chance it was just a trapped corpse, but I’d sure as shit talk to the door as if she was on the other side of it scared for her life. “It’s me, Olivia.I'm here. Open up.”
Soft footsteps came closer, and when the mechanical sounds of locks disengaging greeted me, I gripped my knife and readied myself. I may have just confirmed a live person was in the apartment, but that didn’t mean it was my person. Plenty of others were still living in the city even if they weren't always visible.
I waited, fighting the urge to pace off the adrenaline, staring at the door, shooting glances over my shoulder.
I needed to get out of this hallwaynow.
The door swung open, and I barged into the room, sending someone jumping out of my path. When my brain registered that it was Liv, it felt like my heart was going to explode from my fucking chest. Her eyes were big and round, her hair damp and stuck to her temples. She looked pale, drained, scared. There was a bump on her forehead that looked like it would bruise soon enough, but she was physically in one piece.
I sheathed my knife.
Liv didn’t stand still for long. She shoved past me and engaged the locks on the door as I charged toward what I assumed was the bathroom. I yanked a white towel from the railing and shaped it into a long roll, then returned to the door and wedged it against the gap at the bottom. If any of them were smart enough to look underneath for moving shadows, the option wouldn't be available.
When we were as secure as we were going to get, I straightened and faced her. As I removed my backpack and lowered it to the floor, our eyes locked and tension vibrated in the air. I could feel everything she’d been through just by looking at her face; the fear, the uncertainty, the bone-deep exhaustion. It looked like she'd been crying, too.
She’d outmaneuvered five men on her own and found a safe place to hide.
Pride flowed through me as I reached for her. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and dragged her against me, sighing into her hair. She didn’t say a word, but when she trembled and clung to me, a feeling of relief like I'd never experienced before came over me. I clasped the back of her head and held her tight.
All this time I’d been searching for her, I hadn’t let myself think about what could have happened if the others had got to her first. Those thoughts swamped me now. I imagined her seriously injured or worse, in the hands of those assholes, screaming, crying, and wishing she’d never left home. I blew out a harsh breath and hugged her harder, soaking up her warmth and softness.
“Are you all right?” I whispered against her temple.
Her hold on me tightened, and she nodded against my chest.
“What happened to your head?" I kept my voice to a low murmur.
“I bumped into one of the infected. What happened to you?" she asked, presumably talking about the blood and scrapes.
"Rough landing." My palm moved up and down her spine, slipping higher to squeeze the back of her neck. I didn't want to let her go, but we needed to keep ahead of this while we still had enough daylight left. “I don't want to rush you," I said, easing away from her, "but we're running out of time. We need to come up with a plan to get out of here.”
Liv took a deep breath and nodded as if she'd been thinking the same thing. She pointed toward the bathroom. “Want to go in there just in case?”
I followed her into the all-white room and flipped the lid down on the toilet to take a seat. She closed the door and perched on the edge of the bathtub, resting her hands on either side of her. We stared at each other in silence while we listened for sounds outside. The fear in her features had softened a bit since we’d reunited, and it gave me hope to see determination creeping in to take its place.
“How many do you think are out there?” I asked, keeping my voice just above a whisper.
Her thumb moved in a fast tapping motion against the lip of the tub. “I’ve seen three of them, but I’m confident I’ve heard five different voices.”
Her estimation was in line with mine, so we could only assume our count was accurate. Five against two. Better than the eight we'd been dealing with yesterday. They could still get the jump on us if we were unprepared, though. “Have you heard them talking to one another?” I asked. “Any info we can use?”
Her eyes settled on mine. “The only thing I know for sure is they want me. One of them put on a front like he was trying to be helpful, but I've never liked their vibe.”
I rested my elbows on my knees and held her gaze. “We're leaving here together. They're not taking you anywhere.”
Liv nodded as if she wanted to believe me, but the fear had started to seep in again anyway. Silence fell between us, and I shifted my attention to the wall as I mulled over our options.
I still had a gun in my backpack.
Three bullets.
