Page 38 of My Undead Love Life

None of us had any bites, scratches, or anything of concern. Once we were dressed again, Luck hooked an arm around Oxi's shoulders.

“We'll be back there.” He pointed toward the back of the train car.

“Let us know when we can come back up. I don’t like being separated,” Oxi muttered under his breath as Luck dragged him toward the back of the train car.

The second they disappeared from view, Spencer let out a long sigh. “I don't love this precautionary check.”

“I know it’s inconvenient, but it’s for the safety of us all.”

She stood and quickly undressed, tugging off all the layers and laying them on the bench next to us until she was naked.

My gaze moved over her carefully, checking for bruises, scratches, redness, or anything else concerning. There was nothing besides a few fading bruises and the exhaustion written across her face. “You're clear,” I told her.

“Thank God,” she breathed out, dressing again immediately before looking over at me. “Thanks, Mad.”

My chest ached from how grateful her brown eyes were. “Of course.”

She nodded and settled back onto the bench. I watched her pull her knees toward her chest as she stared out one of the train windows into the darkness beyond the glass.

Something about her made me feel protective, and it wasn't just because we'd promised Keith we'd get her home. Maybe it was because she reminded me of the people I'd helped pull from burning buildings over the years. She was hurt, shaken, exhausted—but still fighting to survive. Or maybe it was another reason.

Either way, every time I checked our surroundings, I found myself checking to make sure Spencer was still there.

7

SPENCER

Iwoke up pressed against Mad’s hard, muscular chest on the train car bench, curled against him as if I belonged there. For a few slow, sleepy seconds, I didn’t understand what was wrong with that. I let myself enjoy his warmth, the steady rise and fall of his chest, the faint scent of metal and smoke clinging to him, and the low, distant hum of the tunnels around us. His arm was heavy near my back, not quite holding me, but it was close enough that he could grab me if I fell.

Awareness slammed into me, snapping me wide awake.

I jerked away so fast my neck twinged. I reached up and rubbed the muscle on the side of my neck before looking down to see Mad’s face beneath me. His eyes started to open, and a sliver of gold peeked up at me.

With a squeak, I lost my balance and rolled straight over his arm, off him, and onto the floor with an audible squeak. The impact knocked the air from my lungs. Cold bit through my clothes, and dust puffed up around me, dry and bitter in my nose.

I sneezed immediately.

All three of them shot to their feet.

Their weapons came up before I even had time to blink. Oxi had his blade angled toward the darkness. Luck had his gun up with both hands, despite the sleepy, wild look in his multicolored eyes. Mad was already half in front of me, axe in hand, his body turned toward whatever threat he thought had thrown me to the ground.

After a few moments of scanning our surroundings, their gazes settled on me. Where I was on the floor, folded awkwardly on my side with my hair in my face and one hand braced against the dirty floor.

“Everything okay?” Mad’s golden eyes stayed trained on me. The sight of him, alert and dangerous, right after I had been sleeping on him, made my face burn hot.

“Um, yeah. No, yeah. I’m fine. I’m not hurt or anything.” I pushed myself upright, trying to gather whatever dignity had survived the stupid fall. “Sorry.”

Mad’s gaze flicked over me once, checking for injuries the same way he did when I was naked, before he lowered his weapon.

It only made the heat in my cheeks worse.

“It’s okay, Spencer,” Luck yawned, putting his weapon down as if he had not been ready to shoot a non-existent threat. His blond hair was sticking up on one side, and he rubbed at his eyes with the heel of his hand. “Great way to wake up, honestly. Really peaceful.”

“Peaceful? Yeah, right. Don’t scare me awake like that,” Oxi wheezed, slapping his chest a couple of times. “I thought we were dead.”

I grimaced as I got to my feet and dusted myself off. My palms came away gray. “I didn’t mean to.”

“Fuck. I think my soul left my body, honestly,” he cursed, running a hand through his black hair.