I snort out a laugh. “I’m never living that down, am I?”
He grins. “Not as long as I’m alive.”
His words are a stark reminder of how close to death he actually came. If the zombie had bitten him harder, or if Theo and Alex weren’t there to stop that nurse, we would have lost him. My arms tighten around him for a second before the two of us part.
My three guys all shake his hand and pat his shoulder, telling him they’re glad he’s making a full recovery. But all too soon, the light atmosphere darkens as Rhys asks the question we’ve all been wondering.
“What made Elsa want to kill you?”
Andy blows out a breath. “At first, I couldn’t remember. The infection and coma has fried my brain a little, but it’s coming back to me. I overheard some things I shouldn’t have as I was getting set up in the isolation ward.”
Everyone’s eyebrows jump up at that, but no one interrupts, our curiosity keeping us silent.
“She and the idiot who opened the gate to let that horde in were in the isolation room next to mine. I guess they didn’t expect anyone to use this part of the ward because the shit I heard…” He trails off as he shakes his head. “She’s been selling people to the Scourge for a couple of months, and that whole thing with the horde was supposed to be a distraction so she could hand some more people over. Of course, the guy actuallyopenedthe gate instead of pretending to, and she ended up losing her shit on him because he endangered or killed some people on the security team that she’s been wanting to sell.”
“Motherfuckingbitch,” Rhys snarls as his hands flex into fists at his sides.
Andy nods in agreement. “It gets worse. Apparently she’s been wanting to thin out the security herd so she can implant her own people onto it to gain more control over you guys.”
There are several growls and curses from my three guys. Alex grabs me and pulls me against his chest to stop himself from doing something stupid while Theo and Rhys hold my hands. All three of them tremble from barely controlled anger.
“I’ll say it again; that bitch isdeadthe moment we get our hands on her,” Alex says, his voice the darkest I’ve ever heard it.
Rhys and Theo hum in agreement.
A shiver dances down my spine as heat stirs in my lower stomach, because apparently I’m fucked up enough to find their aggression sexy.
“Good, she deserves it,” Andy says before continuing on. “When that idiot pointed out that since those security guys are already dead, she can just do it anyway, she blew up at him. Started screaming about how she needed those people alive to trade and that they were supposed to guarantee her and Haven’s future safety from the Scourge. She was fucking loud too, so I’m surprised no one else heard her.”
“The isolation ward is supposed to have good soundproofing, so no one outside the ward can hear what goes on. It’s mostly in case of infected people turning. Don’t want the population to hear them moaning or the gunshot.” Rhys grimaces at that last part, but Andy doesn’t seem bothered. If anything, his lips twitch into a wry smile.
“Good to know you were prepared.”
“Dad…” Rachel says, her voice pained. Until this point, she’s been content to sit quietly beside her father and grip his hand while listening to his story.
“Sorry, sweetheart,” Andy says. He pulls her hand up to kiss the back of it before returning to his story. “After she stopped screaming like a harpy, the two of them left, and since I don’t think either of them spotted me, I thought I was in the clear. I guess not if the bitch tried to have me killed.”
“Why didn’t you say anything of this earlier, when you were in isolation?” Rhys asks with a frown. “Would have saved us a lot of grief.” His eyes flick to mine, and we both know what he really means.
It would have saved Rhys and me from being kidnapped.
Andy sighs. “I tried. At first, I kept it to myself and waited for you to come see me, since I didn’t trust the doc. But you never showed up, and before I could tell the doc, a nurse came in, hooked me up to an IV, and after that, I don’t remember much.”
Alex and Theo share a grim look.
“I’m going to assume it was the same nurse who had the venom,” Theo says, his body stiff beside me.
Rhys nods. “Probably. Anthony didn’t uncover any other traitors in the medical team.”
“And the security team?” Tobias asks. He’s been leaning against the far wall, silently listening to everything with a mixture of horror and grim acceptance on his face.
“Uncompromised,” Rhys replies firmly.
My brother doesn’t look convinced. “Are you sure? The entire reason we found so many traitors was because of the names found in Elsa’s files. What if she didn’t record everyone?”
The mood in the room plummets as each of us come to the same horrifying conclusion: there could still be people working with Elsa and the Scourge in our midst.
Rhys clenches his jaw, his amber eyes flashing with fury and pain. Alex’s arms tighten around me and his chest vibrates with a growl. Theo flexes his hand around mine and presses into me even as his body trembles from restrained anger. Rachel and Tamsin share grim looks as Rachel clings harder to her father.
