He waves me off. “No apology needed. It’s your home now, too.”
Theo goes to open his mouth, and I justknowit’s going to be something wildly inappropriate. Thankfully, Alex speaks before he can. “Have you found anything worrying in those reports?”
“A few things,” Rhys says, his brow furrowing as he sorts through his papers before grabbing a few and sliding them over the table towards thebigger man. “The number of infected attacks has actually decreased over the past few weeks since we left—which isn’t a huge surprise since the Scourge will have cleared them out before and after they attacked. No, what’s concerning is that while attacks are down, disappearances from those on supply teams are up.”
Alex leans forward and flicks through the papers, his food completely forgotten. I peek over, reading report after handwritten report of various people going missing on supply runs with no signs of struggle or zombies in the area. After reading through them, he slides the papers over to Theo to read.
“Has anyone else commented on it?” Alex asks as he returns to his food.
While my appetite from earlier is gone, I force myself to eat, not wanting to waste the food.
Rhys shakes his head. “No. I expected Adam to say something, but he just handed me the reports while saying that at least infected attacks are down.”
“I’m surprised Charles didn’t say anything. While the guy is a massive prick with a stick up his ass, he’s usually pretty good about spotting these things,” Theo says with a frown as he slides the reports back over to Rhys.
“Maybe, but that’s not the only thing worrying me.” Rhys leans back into his chair with a sigh, the plastic creaking beneath him. “I haven’t spoken with Anthony yet, but from what little I saw when we approached Haven, the number of security personnel on duty is a fraction of what it should be.”
Theo’s eyebrows shoot to his hairline. “Seriously? After everything that happened?”
The other man nods grimly. “I’m hoping it’s just a shift change, but then I spotted some security guys I trainedpersonallyin the kitchen earlier.” The muscle in his jaw jumps as he leans forward and lowers his voice. “Something isn’t right here, and it’s bugging me.”
My stomach churns at that ominous statement. Just when I thought we were finally safe, now there’s potentially something going wrong in Haven?
Alex’s hand finds mine under the table, and he squeezes it while offering me a small, reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about it,” he murmurs as he presses a kiss to the top of my head.
Easier said than done. I distract myself by feeding my leftovers to Harlow under the table.
“We should table this discussion until we have more information,” Theo says, joining me in feeding Harlow, who gobbles everything we give her. “You said yourself that you haven’t spoken to Anthony. There could be a myriad of reasons why security was so light and why those guys were in the kitchen, and we won’t know until we ask.”
Alex nods in agreement.
Rhys tugs his hair. “You’re right.” His eyes are still tight with worry as he returns to his half-finished plate, the reports forgotten.
“I have my moments,” Theo says with a grin as he leans back into his chair, infusing some levity into the conversation.
“Rarely,” Alex says with a snort.
Theo’s eyes narrow playfully, and before I know it, the two of them are bickering back and forth over the top of my head. I can’t help but smile at their antics, and glancing at Rhys, I see a fondness in his eyes as he gazes at them. He notices me looking at him, and we share secretly amused looks.
It’s cosy, fun, and chaotic—everything I’ve ever wanted from a family.
The warm feeling sinks into my bones, and while there’s still some anxiety about how I’ll fit within this new community and the looming threat of Rhys’s concerns, I feel safe. Cared for. Happy.
It’s perfect.
Until it’s ruined.
Alex
The four of usare enjoying our meal, chatting and laughing with one another until someone decides they have a death wish.
“Whore,” someone coughs as they shove past our table.
Ollie blanches and the atmosphere changes immediately.
The smiles and laughter from before dissipate, replaced with glares and snarls as me, Theo, and Rhys all look to the dead man. I don’t know him very well, just that he’s been a resident of Haven since the beginning and works as part of the maintenance crew for the wind farm on the beach.
“You want to repeat that, asshole?” Theo asks in an icy tone as he stands, his chair scraping loudly against the wooden floor.
