Page 89

“Not far.”

“If you want to kill me, shoot me,” William pleaded. “Don’t be cruel.”

“How many women did you let turn?” I asked when Bruce seemed conflicted. “Wasn’t that cruel? Maybe we’ll bump into one. You can have a touching reunion before she eats you.”

We tied William’s hands behind his back before setting off to make him easier to handle. Although most of the fight seemed to have gone out of him. He had to know he had no chance against three men. Especially when those three men comprised one whose sister’s death he’d been responsible for, one who was basically sick of his shit, and one—me—who’d spent weeks kowtowing to him. I’d even gone down on my knees for him. The memory made my skin crawl.

The faded sign above the entrance of the shopping center read The St James Retail and Leisure Park.

“Oh, look,” I said, “we found you a saint. How apt.”

There had to be at least twenty biters milling around inside. The glass must have been hard-wearing to have kept them inside. Although they couldn’t have been in there that long, or they would have starved to death. A biter could go a long time without food, far longer than a human, but they eventually starved without any source of meat.

“You don’t need to do this,” William insisted, sweat beading on his brow and his voice cracking. “I’ll go away. You’ll never see me again.” Emotion made his accent more pronounced.

“You’d start again,” Bruce said. “You wouldn’t be able to help yourself. Another town. Another castle, if you can find one.” He shook his head. “No, it wouldn’t work. A leopard as narcissistic as you doesn’t change its spots.”

“We should have gagged him,” I muttered, Bruce offering a nod of agreement.

Keaton was quiet. Too quiet. I laced my fingers through his and gave his hand a squeeze. I’d never held hands with anyone before, unless you counted my grandma, so I was unprepared for the rush of emotion that assaulted me when he squeezed back. I had a feeling there would be lots of firsts for Keaton and me, and I was ready for every single one of them.

William’s expression twisted into a sneer as he took in our joined hands. “Well, look what we have here. You should know that it’s a sin to lie with another man. The Lord will see—”

“I’ve had weeks of your bullshit,” I cut in. “How about you give it a rest before I use one of my socks to gag you?”

After that, it was quick. The three of us forced him inside, and the biters swarmed him instantly, not interested in us when there was easier prey to be had.

Bruce handed the gun to Keaton, Keaton instinctively knowing it was his choice whether William suffered. After only a slight hesitation, the shot rang out.

Silence followed. A heavy silence that made the groans of the biters and the ringing in my ears feel almost sacred. William’s body slumped to the floor, nothing left of the arrogance or the sermons. Just another corpse in a world already full of them.

Keaton’s breathing was ragged, and when I looked at him, his eyes were wet. I didn’t point it out, reaching for his hand again instead. “She’d be happy that you came so far for her,” I whispered.

He nodded, not trusting himself to speak. For the first time since Serena’s name had come up, he looked lighter. Not happy. Not healed. But less burdened.

Bruce’s machinations impressed me. In effect, he’d been the one to kill William by bringing him here and deciding on the nature of his demise. But should Keaton ever look back and regret his decision, he’d have that shot to look back on, without the responsibility.

“What now?” I asked Bruce.

A twitch of a smile touched his lips. “You go back where you came from. And I don’t want to know where that is.”

“I wasn’t going to tell you.”

“And if he had,” Keaton said with a hint of fondness, “it would have been a lie.”

Bruce laughed. “Yeah,. You almost had me fooled. Almost.”

“And you?” I asked.

“I go back to the castle and make up a story about what happened to him.”

“Will his wives grieve?” Keaton asked.

Bruce shrugged. “One or two of them, perhaps. I expect most will be relieved.”

“And in the long term?” I asked.

That question required more thought. “I work out what we are and what we could be. Maybe one day you’ll hear about us for good reasons.”