Page 75 of Death Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Cal stepped closer immediately, hand hovering near my shoulder as if he could steady my balance through sheer stubbornness. “You’re not going alone.”

I did not comment on how part of me liked that statement too much.

Eve grabbed her phone and called Spencer before we even finished deciding. She did not wait for him to answer before speaking.

“Spencer, it’s Eve. There is a hospital outbreak. We need Delia there now.”

A pause, then Spencer’s voice came through, tight and focused.

Eve turned slightly so we could all hear. “Mundanes are filming. People are going to die and others are going to post it. We need mind wipes.”

Another pause.

Eve exhaled. “Thank you. Hurry.”

She ended the call and looked at us. “They’re on their way.”

Faith turned Greyson. “Honey, will you stay?”

Greyson looked over his shoulder. “Of course.”

“Thank you. Someone has to keep that safe stable. If the egg starts locking again while we are gone, call us.”

Greyson’s gaze flicked to me, then to Cal, then back to Faith. “I will.”

Cal did not look happy about leaving the egg behind, even with Greyson guarding it. His attention kept drifting toward the painting as if he could feel the baby through the walls. Which he probably could.

“We do not have a choice,” I said quietly, mostly to Cal. “If we do not stop the calling, the egg stays under attack, anyway.”

Cal’s jaw worked once. Then he nodded. “Fine. But I want the safe triple sealed and monitored.”

Greyson lifted an eyebrow. “It is triple sealed.”

Cal’s gaze went flinty. “Do more.”

Greyson exhaled. “I will.”

Nishi already had her keys in hand. “We move. Now.”

I pushed myself off the floor, and the room tilted for half a second. Cal steadied me with a hand on my elbow. It was a simple touch, but the bond’s echo flared again and my body reacted like an idiot.

I tightened my grip on my own composure.

Not now.

We filed out the front door into the cold night. Nishi drove. Faith rode shotgun. Eve and Tegan climbed into the back with me, and Cal slid in beside me like he was placing himself between me and the universe.

The moment the car started moving, the bond tugged harder. Distance made it stretch, like a rubber band pulled too far. I pressed my palm to my thigh and focused on slow breathing.

Cal watched me. “Tell me if it gets worse.”

“I will,” I said, then added before I could stop myself, “but I’ll complain first. It’s my thing.”

Faith snorted from the front. “Your thing is surviving, Salima.”

We drove toward the hospital, and the city got louder the closer we got. Sirens. Flashing lights. People gathering where they should be running away.

Faith stared out the windshield, jaw tight. “What’s the point of this? Why zombies? Why public? Why the whole spectacle?”