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“Nothing to be sorry for.”

We made it a few more steps before he tripped again, his body colliding with mine.

His sigh held a slight wheeze now. “I think… I need to stop for a minute.”

Varesh and I paused, keeping him upright while he coughed and dragged in air.

For the first time, droplets of blood splattered the road and the toes of his boots. Varesh looked at me over the top of Tim’s head, his eyes filled with dread and just pure, shitty exhaustion.

There were no words, so I said nothing.

Ava kept walking through the wreckage, clearing our path. She held three fingers above her head without looking back at us.

Infected. Again.

One of the dead leaned against the side of a white SUV as he walked, a man in cargo pants overbalancing on a broken ankle. Two more bumped arms as they staggered toward her, their clothes torn and stained.

“Need help?” I called.

“No, I’ve got it.”

Even through it all, I kept stealing glances at her, needing the reminder that she existed in my life.

With calm, measured strides, she closed the distance between her and the man with the broken ankle, hacking into his ear with one swing. Before he hit the ground, she’d yanked the blade free and shifted focus.

Varesh and I stumbled forward with Tim again, my arm aching from the effort.

Every time I swept the area for threats, my gaze came back to Ava, but she had it under control.

She took out the next infected with a clean hit, sidestepping the last one as it reached for her. With a crack to the temple, she jumped clear as it dropped to the road.

Varesh adjusted his position, his arm brushing mine.

We’d almost reached the crash site where it all started.

“I’m sorry I’m so muscular and athletic,” Tim said. “It’s not making this easy for you.”

I smiled despite the situation, keeping a firm hold of him as we dodged another pothole. “Can’t help yourself, can you?”

“It’s a character defect.” He sent Varesh an apologetic look.

By the time we had the Subaru in our sights, my shoulders were burning, my arm shaking. I’d lost feeling in my fingers from the cold.

Ava was already there, unlocking the car with the fob.

She took both our weapons and reached through the driver’s door, dropping them into the passenger seat footwell.

Varesh opened the rear door and dived in, sliding across to the other side before he held his arms out for Tim.

I took most of Tim’s weight, repositioning him on the edge of the seat.

“You can let me go now,” he said as Varesh reached for him. “My husband has me.”

My throat tightened as Varesh pulled him closer. After some shuffling and manoeuvering, Tim lay on his side, knees pulled up, head resting in Varesh’s lap.

I swallowed as I shut the door.

I didn’t want to do this—not again. Every muscle in me tensed as the urge to run took over, but when my eyes met Ava’s, her small, understanding smile calmed the noise inside me.