She shook her head slightly. “Again, no, Idon’t want to know how.”
The next ten minutes passed in relativecalm. It wasn’t until she neared Cleveland that wariness set in. Asshe had feared, the broken down cars were becoming more of anoccurrence the closer she got to the city. It forced her to slowdown, sometimes as low as fifteen miles per hour, to drive inbetween and around them. Now she really had to pay attention—to theliving, the dead, and the increasingly difficult to navigate road.She picked up the gun and moved it to her left hand just incase.
“Nica!” Victor shouted. “A group of theliving are close by!”
Veronica quickly scanned the terrain. Shetightened her grip on the gun as she slowly wove around severalbroken down vehicles. So far she saw no one. “Where? Whichdirec—”
A lone man jumped in front of the car,forcing her to a screeching halt. Her heartbeat quickened asadrenaline rushed her system. Her breasts heaved up and down as sheaimed the gun at the stranger.
“Please,” the man begged, his hands nowraised, “Help us.Please.”
“Not gonna happen,” she said calmly, butforcefully. Her gaze narrowed. The man looked thin, gaunt, anddirty. She understood that life only too well, but there wasnothing she could do. Getting to Victor remained her priority.“Back away from the vehicle or I shoot.” She hated that things hadto be this way, but there it was. It was the world in which theynow lived. “One…”
“Please! There’s a pack of eaters coming forus!”
It was then that a woman and young childappeared in front of the car. They looked as spooked and bedraggledas the man. His wife and kid perhaps? She swore under her breath.Veronica was untrusting and jaded, but not heartless. Fuck! Shedidn’t know what to do. “Are they telling the truth, Victor?”
“They are,” he said on a sigh. “At the ratethe hoard is moving, they will make it to the interstate withinfive minutes.” As if sensing her state of mind, her indecision, headded, “The choice is yours, sis. I won’t judge you eitherway.”
Her gaze and aim remained locked on the man.“I know nothing about them. They could be marauders—or worse.”
“I know.”
“Please,” the man begged again, his voicegrowing increasingly desperate, “just let us in the car until we’refar enough away from them. We aren’t bad people, I swear it!”
So said everyone: the good, the bad, and theevil included.
Veronica’s breathing was heavy, her greengaze narrowed. She didn’t know what to do and had no time tocontemplate it—not if Victor’s five-minute analysis was true.
Growling under her breath, she put the carinto park. “Do you know how to drive?” she asked the man.
“Yeah. I mean it’s been a long time, butyeah.”
“All of you put your hands up.”
He looked to the woman and child. He gavethem a small nod. Their hands went up like his. Veronica kept herleft hand gripped on the gun as her right hand reached for thelaptop. She slid over into the passenger’s seat, her back to itswindow, and rested the computer on her thighs. “You’ll drive,” shetold the man, shooing him over with the gun. “The woman and girlwill get in the back seat through the driver’s side. Any deviationsand I shoot.”
He rapidly nodded. “Thank you,” he raspedout. “No deviations.”
“The woman and girl will keep their handsup. When they enter the car they will keep their hands visiblyempty at all times. You,” she told the man, “will keep your handsup until they’re gripping the steering wheel. Again, nodeviations.”
“Agreed.”
The presumed family unit followed herinstructions to the letter. “Woman and child stay behind thedriver,” Veronica ordered. “No sliding over onto the passenger’sside. In fact, child, sit in woman’s lap.” She didn’t know theirnames and didn’t want to learn them. “Man,” she barked as bothdriver’s side doors closed, “drive!”
Everybody did as instructed. Veronica’svigilant gaze and trigger finger stayed calm, but true.
“Where am I going?” the man asked as hebegan zigzagging between cars. “It looks like the interstate isclear just up ahead.”
“To the docks.”
“Where the private boats are kept?”
“Yes.”
“I know exactly where that is and the bestroute to get to it. I used to work there. I’m Richard, by the way.Behind you are my sister and niece, Eve and Marissa—”
“Just drive,” Veronica ground out. Shedidn’t want to know anything about them. Anonymity made it easierif worse came to worse. “No more talking unless absolutelynecessary.”
