“Can you distract it from here?” I asked Sadie. “I’ll go out the back and come up behind it.”
Her gaze darted from me to the thing on the other side of the glass, the dark smudges under her eyes a reminder she wouldn’t be up to physical activity for days yet.
“Okay,” she said, letting out a resigned breath, “but if you run into trouble, I’m opening the door.”
“Deal.”
A long, mournful moan drifted through the glass, and bloody fingers spread another arc of gunk across the door.
Laura raised her eyebrows. “Why don’t we keep things fair and send out one from each household? I’ll take our spot.”
Owen tucked the sheathed knife into his waistband, shaking his head before she’d even finished speaking. “No. Nope. I don’t want you out there.”
She faced him and tilted her head. “Can you explain why without spouting any sexist crap?”
His jaw flexed, but he didn’t bite back. I’d never known a more determined woman than Laura, and he knew how to work with her better than anyone. “Sorry, honey, all I have right now is sexist crap. I love you, and I want to protect you.”
“We all need to go out there eventually,” she said, her tone gentler. “The girls, too. Hiding behind glass won’t help any of us.”
“I’ll be her back-up,” I said.
Owen kept his attention on his wife, his features torn. An imaginary clock ticked over our heads, and the glass shuddered under another attack. “If I see anything—anything—I don’t like,” he said, “I’m going outside.”
She nodded, her eyes soft. “I’m good with that.”
“I’ll come out too,” Willow said.
Despite the seriousness of what we were about to do, Laura let out a crack of laughter. “Absolutely not.”
“I’ll represent our apartment.” Tim stepped up to the door and performed another practice swing, aiming for the infected man’s forehead. “If I don’t do it now, I’ll lose my nerve.”
“Will it even go through that part of the head?” Ellie asked.
“Possibly not,” Varesh said. “Target the eyes, ears—under the chin if your weapon’s long enough.”
“Gross.” She couldn’t seem to tear her gaze from the dead man.
Owen took a few seconds to fire off instructions to Laura while her daughters crowded her, the number of demands matching his rising stress levels.
Varesh hugged Tim and shared a few parting words of wisdom.
Without thinking, I turned to Sadie and cradled her jaw, pressing a lingering kiss on her cheek. Surprised, she sucked in a breath and gripped my shirt, holding me to her. As the activity ramped up in the foyer, nervous energy buzzed between us, and I rested my lips beside hers, wishing I’d chosen a better time and place.
“Be careful,” she said, turning her head and bringing our mouths even closer.
A shiver lifted the hairs on the back of my neck. I could almost feel the pressure of her lips, the softness. I’d lost sleep overthis moment, and I brushed my thumb along her jaw. A few millimetres more, and our mouths would be touching.
Then Owen clapped my shoulder. “Good to go?”
“Yeah,” I sighed, pulling back. “I’m good.”
Sadie’s eyes were unfocused, her cheeks tinted red. She wanted this as much as I did, and now I had to leave her here.
As rotting hands scrabbled away at the glass beside us, Laura gave me a shove. “Come on, lover boy. She’ll be right here when you get back.”
My gaze dropped to Sadie’s mouth. “I won’t be long.”
“Don’t lose sight of it for a second,” she said with a passing glance at the others. “I mean it, Theo.”
