Hunter Of The Dead (15 page)

“You don’t have to be pissy—”

Eden spun and sliced her hand through the air, cutting Jordan off. “You don’t have a right to tell me how to feel, not after what you did. You can’t drop a bomb like this and expect me to just roll with it, to not care. I’ll do my job, okay? But it doesn’t mean I have to like this.”

“Fine.” Jordan bit her lip. The move was one she’d done often as a child, when she wasn’t sure how to react to something Dad demanded she do. Eden hadn’t seen it in years. “Like I said, he’s a reporter. And whoever is responsible for this, whether they are our employer or not, they obviously aren’t ready for news of the infection to go public. So if a bunch of reporters show up...”

“They’ll be too busy scrambling to cover up dead bodies to worry about the live ones.” Eden ran her hand through her hair and stared in amazement. Even as angry as she was, she could admit it was a pretty decent plan. “But what kind of guarantee do you have that he won’t call me a crackpot and hang up?”

“He knows everything.”

Eden choked. “Everything? I thought you’ve only known this guy a few months. How did you get around to talking about the infected and our assignments? Hell, Jordan, we haven’t even been on an assignment in six months, so it wasn’t like you had to explain a disappearance.”

Her sister shifted, clearly uncomfortable. Good. She should be uncomfortable after pulling such an asshole move. “He came to me with questions about Dad and what kind of work we did. I blew him off at first, but he kept calling.”

“So, what, you just spilled all our secrets?” The ugly mix in her chest swirled, bubbling up until she could taste its bitterness on the back of her tongue.

“No, nothing like that. But we talked and got to know each other.”

Eden laughed harshly. “Newsflash, big sister. He used you. All you needed was some freaking attention, and you gave him all the information he needed.”

“Bullshit.” Jordan’s chin lifted and fire flashed back into her dark eyes. “We didn’t even meet in person until last month. We care about each other.”

“Whatever.” Eden fought back the urge to shake some sense into her sister. “So I’ll call him, and he’s going to—what?—ride in on his white horse and save us?”

“I know you’re upset, but this is the best chance we have.” Jordan sighed. “Even if he gets here in time, there’s no guarantee it will work. They might kill us all on the spot.”

With a sigh of her own, she turned back to her sister. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

Jordan nodded, her expression all business. As if she hadn’t just dropped a bomb on Eden. “Make sure you tell him everything. Our coordinates, our suspicions, the number of infected, everything.”

“Fine.” There was nothing else to say. It was just one more thing to deal with if they got out of this deathtrap. “I need to get my stuff together.”

Jordan nodded. “There are spare suits of armor in the Humvee. Make sure Alejandro gets one.”

The plan wasn’t great. Even if this guy showed up, they had no way of knowing how the people responsible for this mess would react. There was a very good chance they’d kill everyone, the journalists included. Or maybe Jeremy wouldn’t even get here in time. Or wouldn’t come at all. A million things could go wrong. But Jordan was right, it was the best plan they had.

She swatted the flap aside and went into the tent. It was empty except for Alejandro. Of course. Eden did her best to ignore him as she sank to her knees and started shoving things into her pack. No point in bringing guns with no ammo so she brought an extra set of clothing and a handful of protein bars. Then she double-checked to make sure her
bolo’s
sheath was secure and her knife was still in her boot.

“Are you well,
querida
?”

Sometime in the last three days, those words had become tradition between them. She looked up and met his gaze, trying not to see the emotion they held. One day she’d have to acknowledge he might really care for her...but not today. She couldn’t afford to think about relationship stuff—or family stuff or, hell,
anything
—when all their heads were on the chopping block.

“I’m fine.” She pulled on her pack, jumping a few times to make sure the straps were tight enough.

When she looked up again, he was less than a foot away. “That is not what I asked.”

“It doesn’t matter what I’m feeling right now. The only thing that matters is busting our asses to the Humvee, and then getting back here.” And making a phone call to some guy she’d never heard of before tonight. A guy who, in all probability, was using her sister for a news story. Fan-freaking-tastic. There were too many unknown factors and worry left a bad taste in Eden’s mouth.

“No,
querida
. That is not all that matters.” He reached out, almost in slow motion, and cupped the uninjured side of her face.

Despite her best intentions, Eden leaned into his touch, amazed at how safe he made her feel. It wasn’t the truth. She was anything but safe right now, let alone with him, but she treasured the feeling just the same.

When he finally took his hand back, she blinked up at him. “I can’t afford to be weak right now.”

“I know.”

“And having to worry about you on top of everything else might get me killed.”

His green eyes darkened. “I know. I will protect your back.”

But who was going to watch his? What if he was bitten? Fear nearly sent her to her knees. She couldn’t lose him again, especially to such a twisted fate. It was one thing to know he was out in the world somewhere, it was totally another to have to face the reality of staring down a rifle at his undead face, of seeing those green eyes glazed and white.

She couldn’t do it. If he changed, she couldn’t kill him.

“
Querida
.
Querida
, what is wrong?” He grabbed her shoulders and shook her a little.

Instead of answering, Eden threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist tight enough to bruise. All the words she could never say bubbled up in her throat, choking her. It was too much. This whole damn place was too much.

Eden forced herself to let go, one finger at a time. She couldn’t be weak right now, couldn’t afford to lean on anyone. “We’ll talk when this is over.”

He looked at her face a long time before he said, “Yes.”

She nodded and turned, nearly bolting out of the tent. The survivor’s camp passed in a blur and then she was standing in front of the gate, looking up at her big sister. “I need to know you’ll be safe.” No matter how pissed she was right now, she still loved her big sister. Losing her wasn’t an option.

Jordan could have laughed and brushed off her words as being overprotective. She didn’t. “I won’t take any unnecessary risks.”

It wasn’t the same thing, but it was the best Eden would get. She nodded and allowed Jordan to give her a hand up onto the fence. Kaede and Taro were already there and Alejandro jogged up as she watched, his face set in its perfect blank mask.

“Kaede, you’re decoy.”

Eden looked at her sister, wondering if this was just another reason for Kaede to stay behind. Jordan didn’t want her down in the midst of the crowd, didn’t trust her to stay alive. After the last few days, Eden didn’t blame her. She might be the best shooter on their team, but she wasn’t cut out for ground work, not like the others were.

Kaede grinned, her eyes lighting up like they always did before a fight. “My pleasure.”

“Eden, Taro, and Alejandro, you need to move as soon as she’s over the gate. Don’t stop and don’t engage if you can help it. I’ll pull Kaede back over as soon as you’re out of range.”

It was a risky plan but there wasn’t much else available to them at the moment.

Kaede met Eden’s gaze. “Don’t get my brother killed, princess.”

Eden nodded and turned to follow Taro to the opposite side of the fence. Once they were in position, Kaede used one hand to propel herself over the fence. She landed in the midst of the infected, her
nagamaki
already out. As Eden watched, the other woman whirled into motion, taking out two of them before they registered her presence.

Alejandro prodded her in the back. “Go.”

She turned back to find Taro was already over the fence. He looked up at her with eerie black eyes identical to Kaede’s. She shivered, wondering if insanity ran in their family. Normal people didn’t cut out their son’s tongue or take pleasure in killing people. Hell, if she was going to go there, she might as well add that normal people didn’t hunt zombies. She’d never been normal either.

Eden climbed over the top of the fence and dropped to the ground. It wasn’t as graceful as Kaede’s jump, but it got the job done. She barely got her balance when Alejandro landed softly beside her.

They skirted the edge of the cliff, moving quickly. When they reached the edge of the trees, Eden risked a glance back. Kaede fought against an increasing number of infected. The other woman went down under them for a long moment, and Eden nearly screamed. Her fear was unfounded. Kaede appeared outside the main group, looking none the worse for wear. She hacked and slashed, cutting her way back to the fence with apparent ease. It made Eden a little jealous to watch how easily Kaede moved. It was a stupid and useless feeling but she couldn’t help it. Kaede was so damn perfect—if one didn’t count her being a psycho. There was no way Eden could ever compete with her even if she trained for a hundred years. Kaede jumped up and easily caught Jordan’s hands, letting Eden’s sister pull her back to safety.

“
Querida
, we must go,” Alejandro said softly.

She turned back, hurrying to catch up to Taro. Alejandro was right. They weren’t out of danger yet, wouldn’t be until they were out of this cursed valley. But it was worse here because they were so close to the survivor’s camp. The gunfire would have been heard for miles and would, even now, be attracting any infected within range. There was no telling how many were still out there because they hadn’t had accurate numbers to start with. Eden shuddered to think of hundreds of infected combing the jungle, looking for their next meal.

No, they definitely couldn’t afford to let down their guard.

Still, it felt amazing to be moving again. Eden hadn’t realized how much it bugged her to be cooped up in the survivors’ camp. She lengthened her stride to match Taro’s and searched the surrounding jungle for signs of the infected. She was so busy looking for a threat in the distance, she didn’t notice the one under her feet until she tripped over it.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Eden went down in a sprawl of limbs, remembering to roll at the last second. It wasn’t pretty, but it got her away from the infected she’d tripped over. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

She kicked the zombie in the face, scrambling back crab-style. It kept coming, moving quickly over the ground despite having no legs. Eden fumbled for her
bolo
as Taro swooped in and decapitated the infected.

Trying to convince her heart not to burst from her chest, she climbed to her feet, both men watching her closely. “Let’s go.” She brushed dirt off her hands and started walking. Taro overtook her almost immediately. Even as she cursed herself for not paying enough attention, she still enjoyed the view. He was lean and wiry, even more so than Alejandro, but there was an obvious strength in the shoulders his
Shaolin Spade
hung over. Reluctantly, she looked away. Taro was too damn distracting for his own good, or, rather,
her
own good. And he never seemed to notice the way both men and women’s eyes followed him when he walked through a room. How someone could be so beautiful and not know it was beyond Eden. Even Alejandro knew he was attractive and used it to his advantage, especially when dealing with her.

She could feel the man in question at her back, watching her. And well he should. Missing the infected under her freaking feet had been careless, dangerously careless. Eden concentrated on breathing slowly, her eyes constantly scanning the jungle both near and far.

They fell into a loping pace that ate up distance without exhausting them. Eden did her very best not to think of anything, to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other and keeping her eyes on Taro’s back in between scanning the jungle.

The attack came without warning, the infected probably startled from their coma-state. One second Eden was jogging comfortably, the next Alejandro was shouldering her aside as he and Taro attacked the small group of zombies. They moved in sync working around each other without speaking. It was a beautiful, deadly choreography that Eden could appreciate even as she went after the infected at the back of the pack. Two turned to face her, attacking at the same time. She was forced to retreat, sidestepping behind a tree to slow them down. They both went right, which gave her the half second she needed to kill the first. Eden danced back another two steps, ready to move in on the second, and then Alejandro was there, cutting it clean in half.

She shoved her hair out of her eyes and glared at the men. “I can fight.”

Taro looked at her like she was ranting and Alejandro shrugged. “I know,
querida
.”

She opened her mouth to keep arguing, but bit back the words. There was no point. “Let’s go.” They wouldn’t be taken by surprise again. She hoped.

They reached the river mid-afternoon. Eden stopped on its bank and looked around. It wasn’t the same place where she’d found Kaede. The water ran much deeper here and the river was wider. Remembering her last attempt at crossing, she sighed. This was going to suck.

Alejandro must have been thinking along the same lines. “I want you bound to me.”

“Whoa, slick, don’t you think you’re moving a bit fast?”

He glared, not impressed with her attempt at humor. “I will not have you swept away again.”

“What about him?” She motioned to Taro, knowing he didn’t need any sort of help. She was right. The sneaky bastard was already on the other side of the river. She and Alejandro stared at him in silence for a long moment. “Never mind.”

“
Querida
, please do not fight me on this.”

She wanted to. Being left out of the fights earlier must have damaged her pride more than she thought because she wanted to prove she wasn’t helpless. It was as stupid an impulse as her jealousy of Kaede. Alejandro knew she could take care of herself, had seen her in action. Still, it was a huge wound to her pride to agree with him.

Her small nod of acceptance was all he needed. He slipped off his pack and pulled out the same length of rope he’d tried to use on her while they were on the cliffs. This guy really had a jonesing for bondage games.

Her amusement lasted only until he stood before her. Eden looked away while he knotted the rope around her waist, trying not to resent him for insisting on this. It was only worse because he was right. She hadn’t fared well last time they crossed the river. She’d fallen, lost Bernice, and nearly been bitten by an infected. Not exactly a reassuring track record.

“
Querida
, I know you can do this by yourself. You are merely humoring me.”

She ignored the comment and started for the river. His trying to justify it for her only served to drive home how worthless she felt.

The water was colder than she remembered, the current already sucking at her shoes and begging her to give an inch. Eden moved in an awkward shuffle, reluctant to lift her feet more than necessary. The rope between them went tight when she was waist deep. She glanced back. He was three feet behind her, water lapping at his thighs. Eden abruptly decided thinking about his thighs was not conducive to making it safely across the river, and forced her thoughts back to her feet.

A rock rolled under her left foot and she stumbled, nearly going under. She caught her balance at the last moment, straightening. Eden looked back just as Alejandro’s head disappeared under the surface of the river. She had no time to process the sight before the rope around her waist went tight and ripped her off her feet.

She rolled along the river bottom, tangling in the rope. Panic threatened but Eden beat it back; she’d survived the river before, she’d do it this time, too. She pulled her knees to her chest and grabbed the rope. A large rock appeared out of nowhere and she hit it broadside, knocking the air from her lungs. Desperate now, Eden kicked, her feet barely touching the bottom.

Another boulder stopped her forward motion. Eden could feel the tugging along her waist from where Alejandro had passed it as she clawed her way to the surface and gasped for breath. It was a short-lived relief because the rope pulled her back into the current, and she was once again fighting for air.

Eden’s head broke the surface long enough to get a good look around. The cliffs loomed large in front of them. Too large. And the river wasn’t showing any sign of slowing or breaking off. It must exit underground.
Shit
.

She had two choices. She could use the knife in her boot to cut the rope and try to make it to safety on her own. Or she could be a freaking hero and save Alejandro.

Let him go. He’s replaceable. You’re not
, Dad’s voice sounded in her ear, so clear Eden almost looked around to see if he were there.

Hell no. She wasn’t her father. She couldn’t let the man she loved die when there was a chance to save him. Forcing her tired body into motion, she grabbed the rope again and pulled. Alejandro surfaced a mere foot from her, his beautiful face slack. An alarming amount of blood leaked from a cut on his head.
Double shit
.

Eden wedged an arm over his chest. She kicked, aiming for the far bank. They moved less than three inches and the cliffs got a whole lot closer.

“Come on, you stubborn idiot,” she gasped. “Wake up and help me, damn it.”

She threw everything she had into getting to the far bank. No matter how hard Eden worked, it never seemed to get any closer. And then she blinked and she was waist deep in the water.

Eden’s legs went out when she tried to stand, and for one eternal moment she thought she was going to drown five feet from safety. Then strong hands lifted her and Alejandro out of the water. She went for her knife, almost too tired to fight, but it was only Taro. He gave the knife in her hand an approving look and then hauled Alejandro onto dry land.

She stumbled after them, pausing only to shove the knife back into her boot. Taro laid Alejandro on his back, and efficiently checked his wounds. At least Alejandro was still breathing and the head wound seemed to have stopped bleeding. Eden leaned back against a nearby tree and let Taro work. He wasn’t their medic—Jordan was—but, like his twin, he was skilled at damn near everything. She watched him, wondering what sort of secrets his family had that would cause them to mutilate him to make sure he’d never speak again. On top of being disinherited and the banishing bit, it was adding insult to injury. Or injury to insult. Her trip down the river made her head woozy. Either way, it was a really fucked up thing to do.

There was movement in the trees across the river. Eden raised her hand a little bit to get Taro’s attention. From the corner of her eye she saw him go still, but she didn’t look away from the infected melting out of the jungle. There were twenty of them, far too many to fight even if two-thirds of Eden’s group hadn’t been on the verge of drowning.

As yet more appeared, Eden frowned, confusion momentarily dampening her fear. Most of them were dressed like the others, ragged clothing stained with blood and dirt and other things, but five of them were so completely different, she had to glance at Taro to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. “You see that, right?” she murmured, her gaze going back to the five. “You see the paint on their faces?” She looked back in time to see Taro nod once. Those five infected were dressed in armor that looked strikingly similar to that which Eden’s team wore. And they had camouflage painted on their faces. Even from her place, she could tell it was the good stuff, not something amateurs would have access to. Just like the infected they’d killed near the cliffs outside the survivor’s camp.

“What the hell is going on?” she whispered.

The zombies’ moans increased when they heard her voice. Shit. They were going to draw any infected on this side of the river. Several tried to brave the river, but they were swept away almost immediately. Thank God.

“We have to get out of here,” Eden said softly, turning to scan the jungle on their side of the river. The problem of the military-like infected would wait for another day. “Can you carry him?”

Taro lifted Alejandro easily, shifting him into a fireman’s carry. It probably wasn’t going to help Alejandro’s head wound, but it would get them moving. Eden checked the surrounding area against the map in her head. They were close to the cabin where she and Alejandro had stayed the night.

“Follow me.” As she moved through the trees, she prayed there were no infected hanging about. After a second, she drew her
bolo
. Just in case.

They reached the cabin as true darkness fell. The area around it was empty, but Eden didn’t let down her guard as she searched the darkness for any telltale movement.

“Give me a minute.” She took off her pack and Taro nodded. It wasn’t easy to scale the walls of the cabin, but she’d been doing stuff like this for years now. Even as exhausted as she was, Eden was on the roof in seconds.

Alejandro had left the trap door open and she dropped easily into the cabin. From there, it was quick work to get the bar off the door. Eden cast one last look around as Taro carried Alejandro in. There was still no movement. She shut the door and dropped the bar over it. They were safe enough for tonight as long as the infected didn’t show up again. Eden shivered at the thought before she pushed it from her mind. They had nowhere else to go.

They put Alejandro on the bed, and she set about stripping him out of his wet clothes. As she pulled his pants off, she looked up in time to see Taro’s eyes latch onto the injured man. Irrational jealousy surged and Eden suddenly wanted to smack him—which was stupid, because she knew how good Alejandro looked, even half-drowned. Taro glanced up and had the decency to look guilty. He even blushed.

The sight of the untouchable Taro blushing pulled her out of her anger. It helped that he was too damn hot for his own good and the blush only added to the effect. Grumbling under her breath, Eden grabbed a blanket and covered Alejandro below the waist.

Taro went to work bandaging Alejandro’s head while she slipped into the opposite corner and stripped down. All of her extra clothes were wet, but she found a spare sheet and fashioned a toga. Then she laid out the wet clothes and supplies and grabbed a few protein bars. Taro took the two she offered, very carefully not looking at her. Apparently he wasn’t over his embarrassment. Good. Eden ignored him and sat on the bed next to Alejandro.

“You might as well sleep while you can,” she said finally.

He must have agreed because when she looked up, he had wedged himself into the corner farthest from the door and closed his eyes. Shaking her head, she looked back to find Alejandro’s eyes open.

“
Querida
.”

“Shh.” She reached over and grabbed a bottle of water. “Try to drink something.”

He made a face. “I have had enough water, thank you.”

Eden laughed softly. If he was making jokes, he’d be okay. A weight she hadn’t been aware of lifted off her chest. “Let me know if you change your mind. How does your head feel?”

“Like a mountain fell on it.” His eyes darted around. “We are in the cabin I took you to?”

“I figured this would be better than sleeping in a tree.”

“Smart woman.” He made a move as if he would sit up, but pain spasmed across his face and he fell back onto the bed. “I do not think I will be much help to you.”

Eden shook her head, refusing to even think about what he suggested. “No. I won’t leave you behind.”

“
Querida
, I will not be responsible for your death.” He made a face. “I almost was once this week. Please do not ask me to put you in danger again.”

“Alejandro—”

“Shh. We will talk more of this in the morning. Where is your delightful friend’s brother?”

She nodded in Taro’s direction. “Sleeping.” No point to mention the awkward moment they had earlier.

“As you should be.” When she started to protest, he pressed his fingers against her mouth. “Do not argue with me,
querida
. I am alive and you are alive and, tonight, we are safe.”