Page 1 of My Undead Love Life

1

SPENCER

The undead had us surrounded.

“Look at me, wildflower.” Keith’s shaking hands cupped my face as he forced my head toward him, away from the dead banging on the subway car we’d retreated into.

The shattered window panes wouldn’t keep them out. Jagged teeth of glass glinted from sunlight that spilled from where the subway wall was cracked, and every slam from outside made the metal walls shriek. The air reeked of rust and sour rot that drifted off the bodies crowding the platform.

We didn’t have long until we’d be infected.

“Spencer!” His wide blue eyes bore into mine.

My pulse thundered in my ears, but it wasn’t loud enough to drown out the wet scraping of nail beds dragging across steel and the guttural moans pressing closer. The subway floor vibrated beneath us every time another corpse hurled itself against the car.

The love of my life’s voice sounded like it was underwater among the groans and shuffles of the zombies outside.

My tongue tasted like copper where I’d bitten the inside of my cheek, and each breath burned cold in my lungs. Sweat trickled down my spine despite the chill creeping through the train car.

“Keith…” A stinging heat filled my eyes, threatening to spill over. “What about Tori⁠—”

“Tori and the guys are safe. They ran,” he promised me. “I told your sister I’d keep you safe, and I will.”

Another crash rattled the car hard enough to throw us sideways against a few seats. Glass skittered across the floor.

Through the fractured windows, pale, rotten hands clawed inside. Their twitching fingers were slick with blackened blood. Rancid smells continued to drift through the opening, thick and putrid enough to turn my stomach.

We immediately moved back to the center.

Keith tightened his grip on me like if he held on hard enough, he could keep the entire world from breaking apart.

But he couldn’t.

Just before we’d run off into the subway, Keith and I had been separated from my sister and her three husbands by a swarm of zombies pouring through the city. Tori’s terrified scream still echoed in my head, swallowed by snarls and gunfire. I clung to the thought of her being safe with the guys. They’d gone in the direction of home—back to the Oasis.

But our situation was still uncertain.

“I love you, wildflower. You’re going to survive for me.” Keith’s lips descended on mine in a kiss so desperate and full of love it made my chest ache. His mouth tasted faintly of blood, and his trembling breath fanned warm against my freezing skin.

For one impossible second, the apocalypse outside disappeared, replaced by the familiar comfort of him.

Another violent bang shook the subway car, rattling the overhead bars. The undead groaned outside in a horrifyingly hungry chorus.

My grip on my katana loosened before he pulled away. The worn handle slipped against my sweaty palm.

“I love you, Key. You’ll always be the key to my heart.” My voice cracked on the last word.

His expression crumpled for half a heartbeat before he forced a crooked smile. “Maybe there are more keys out there besides me.”

“No.” The answer tore out of me instantly. I grabbed the front of his jacket with shaking hands, my katana clattering forgotten against the subway floor. “Why—why the fuck would you—why….Don’t say that!”

Another slam rocked the car, followed by the sharp crack of glass splintering all around us, but I couldn’t look away from him.

“Spencer—”

“No!” Hot tears blurred my vision. “We get out together. We always do.”

Keith swallowed hard, his thumb brushing beneath my eye to catch a tear before it could fall. His touch trembled worse than mine. “Wildflower…listen to me.”