Page 104 of My Undead Love Life

He knew them.

“Oxi,” Mad said immediately, his voice shifting into command, “stay here. Do not open that door until I say so. Spencer and Luck, with me.”

I squeezed Oxi’s arm quickly. “We’ve got you.”

He didn’t look convinced. I wasn’t even sure he had heard me, but he nodded.

The cold hit like an icy slap when we stepped outside. Snow stung my cheeks and caught in my lashes. My boots slid for half a second on the packed ice near the door, but I corrected fast, katana already free.

“Take the undead down,” Mad said.

“Help us!” a woman cried out, running from the undead chasing them.

“She’s infected!” a man with dark black hair shouted, pointing at the younger woman with them.

She had matted blonde hair and green eyes filled with terror. One of the older women had her hand locked around hers, pulling her forward with desperate strength. That woman had black hair, green eyes, and the kind of features that made recognition slam into place even before I wanted it to.

She looked like Oxi. Older and harsher, but she looked way too much like him. Or…he looked like her.

“There’s a chance she won’t turn!” the older woman screamed.

The younger woman had a clear chunk taken from her arm, and it was bleeding profusely. Even from several yards away, I could see the damage. Her jacket and sleeve were torn open, exposing her elbow down. Blood ran over her wrist and dripped from her fingertips onto the snow.

There was no way in hell that woman would make it. If she were lucky, she’d have a few hours before turning. But that was the best-case scenario.

Mad, Luck, and I split between the group and the zombies, weapons drawn.

I stepped into the first one’s path and brought my katana down. The blade cut clean through its neck, and its head flew, landing in the snow with a wet thud. I spaced my feet apart, turned, and sliced through the next before it could grab the dark-haired man. Luck hit one in the head with his shovel, then the other. Their skulls were so decomposed that they caved in under the force, dropping them into the slush. Mad moved beside him, axe rising and falling. The last zombie’s head practically exploded under the pressure. Then, there was only wind and breathing as the blood from the zombies oozed into the snowy ground.

We all stopped and turned toward the survivors.

The bitten woman was in a full-blown panic attack. Her breaths came too fast and shallow, hitching on sobs that made my throat tighten. The older woman with black hair was using her jacket to wrap around the wound, hands shaking so badly the fabric kept slipping.

“Mom, I don’t want to die!” the girl cried.

My stomach dropped. Her mother. Oxi’s mother. That meant that the bitten woman was Oxi’s sister.

“You’re not going to die, Olivia,” the older woman insisted, wrapping fabric around the wound with shaking hands. “You hear me? You’re not.”

“She’s been bitten. Of course she will!” the man with them snapped. Agony laced his expression despite the harshness of his words.

“Frank, stop,” the other woman said, putting her hand on his shoulder to hold him back.

“Alright,” Mad said, stepping slightly in front of me. “Who are you? Calm down and explain who you are.”

“Just let us into the firehouse!” the mother screamed at us, a vein bulging in her forehead.

“Absolutely not.” Mad’s expression hardened as he shifted farther, shielding me from the group.

“Tell us who you are first,” Luck said, stepping beside him, hiding me even more.

“We can tell you after⁠—”

“I’m Frank,” the dark-haired man said, cutting off the grieving mother.

“And I’m Jan,” the woman next to him introduced herself before pointing to the mother and daughter. “That’s Victoria and Olivia. Olivia was just bitten by one of the ones you killed. We’re trying to go north. I have family up that way.”

Mad ran a hand down his face with a sigh. For one second, I thought he was going to refuse them. Then, Olivia let out another broken sob, and something in his jaw shifted. “Oxi,” Mad called without looking back, “open the door. Let’s talk inside.”