“Stop making a scene. It’s not that serious.” Daisy rolled her eyes.
I bit my tongue and hugged my family once more before we helped everyone situate the horses in the shed, and then Nathan and Micah led me to their treehouse.
Thick wooden pegs came out the side of the tree and led up to the platform of the treehouse, and Nathan was the first to go up before offering me his hand.
My hands grasped the rough wooden pegs as I climbed up and took his hand for him to help me up. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, killer.”
Micah came up behind us and placed his hand on my lower back. “Ready to see our place, darlin’?”
A strange thrill of excitement spread through me as I took in the treehouse in front of me. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken them up on their offer, but I’d been stuck with Jay and Daisy for three years. I needed a break from it all, and my intuition told me these two were good men.
“Absolutely.”
6
CALIX
Acreaky floorboard and a feminine voice echoed through the wooden walls, making me jerk awake in bed.
“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you allowing me to stay with you,” a woman expressed her appreciation.
“We couldn’t let you be stuck in the guest treehouse withDaisy,” Nathan assured her, and the way he said Daisy was as if the name itself burned him.
“Calix won’t mind. Just make sure to keep everything clean and disinfected,” Micah added in his low, gruff tone that seemed softer than I’d ever heard it in the two years I’d known the man.
Hauling myself out of bed, I ran a hand through my unruly tangled hair and groaned before snatching the cotton mask on the nightstand and tucking it carefully over my ears to cover my mouth and nose.
I could hear the hissing of disinfectant as I stumbled toward the exit and grabbed a freshly cleaned pair of rubber gloves on the dresser. I slid them on before opening the door and going out into the living room.
The small amount of moonlight streamed through the window enough to make out a beautiful woman standingbetween Micah and Nathan, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. Brown hair tumbled down her shoulders in waves, and her pretty blue eyes widened as she noticed me.
“And this is Calix,” Nathan introduced me with a dramatic arm wave my way, and Micah finished spraying her off before setting the disinfectant on the table.
Her lips curved into a shy smile as she wrapped her arms around her torso. “Hi. I’m Tori. I’m sorry for barging in.”
Her voice was soft and sweet, different than I had originally thought when I had been woken up by it, and her smile made my chest tighten.
I tilted my head and scanned my eyes over her sweatshirt and leggings, blood splatter coated both. The guys had deposited their shoes and hers outside like usual, so her feet were covered by faded blue socks. “You’ll need to clean up. The room’s already contaminated. Got extra clothes?”
Her smile dropped as her brows scrunched together. “Excuse me?”
“She will,” Nathan interrupted. “We all will. We know how you are, man.”
“Then why haven’t you done it correctly? How’d you find her?” I turned my gaze to Micah, and he gave a heavy sigh.
“There’s a horde coming through. We ran across her family’s ranch, and they came with us. It’s her, her sister and parents, and two others. She doesn’t get along well with the two others, and there was arguing. Figured it’d be best not to have conflict during the horde passing through.”
“Horde? How far away until it comes through?” My brain was still foggy from sleep, but the news of a horde making its way through sent adrenaline pumping through me.
“Any time now. The horde was too close for comfort on the way here.” Nathan shivered.
“Do you think it’s smart to have astrangerstay with us for days on end while an army of undead shamble below us?” My tone came out flat, but my heart felt like it would beat out of my chest.
“I can go stay with my family instead. I don’t want to be an inconvenience,” she offered just before Bane let out a snarl and some low rumbles outside.
“It’s too late for that,” Micah grumbled, turning and locking the multiple locks on the door to the treehouse.
