Hunter Of The Dead (8 page)

The sight that met her was the stuff of nightmares—her nightmares, at least. Below them, fully surrounding the cabin and cutting off any chance of escape, was a horde of zombies.

The crowd moved as one, pulsing against the walls of the cabin. Eden felt the shock of the impact from her toes to the top of her head. There was no way the walls could hold out for long, stone or not.

They were going to die.

Chapter Eleven

Eden shook her head, angry at herself. Since when was she the doomsday type? Not now, not ever. Instead of focusing on the infected surrounding the cabin, she turned her attention to a way for them to escape. The cliff bordered the back wall, but it was nearly sheer. Even if they could climb it, there was no easy escape. If they went sideways, the zombies would follow them. If they went up, there was a good chance whoever had blown the road would be waiting for them. Whoever it was had to have some cash and influence since normal people didn’t go around blowing mountains up.

It could be some sort of government agency trying to quarantine the valley to avoid the spread of infection, but that didn’t jibe with Eden. It had been less than a week since the infection first hit, not nearly enough time for someone to convince government officials the dead were rising. To most people, the story would sound too far-fetched to be reality. No, such a person would be more likely to end up in a loony bin than taken seriously by someone high enough in the government to make something like this happen.

This reeked of a private company. Something like the one who employed Eden’s team. She blinked, rubbing her eyes. It wasn’t possible, was it? That her employers were the same people corralling them in here? As much as she didn’t like it, she couldn’t shake the feeling. It was an awful big coincidence—especially when one took into account the fact that only a select few even knew zombies existed, let alone sent teams to herd them about in the jungles of Peru.

The crowd surged against the cabin again, rattling the whole structure and forcing her back to the present. It wouldn’t matter who was to blame if she and Alejandro were torn to pieces.

With no small amount of relief, she turned back to the front of the cabin. She wasn’t ready to deal with climbing the damn cliffs yet, even if they were their only way out of the valley. The nearest tree trunks were roughly ten yards away, but their branches hung over the cabin. The problem was they would be too weak to hold Eden’s weight, let alone Alejandro’s.

“I hope you have a conveniently hidden escape hatch,” she said, finally letting her gaze drop to the crowd below them. It was pointless to wonder how this group of zombies found their cabin. They were here now and Eden had to deal with it.

“I regret that I do not.” Alejandro sighed. “We must get to the trees.”

She laughed harshly. “It won’t work. There’s no way they’ll hold us.”

“There is a way.”

Before she could ask what he planned, Alejandro disappeared back into the cabin. Eden reluctantly followed, wondering if there was something she’d missed. No, she was sure those trees wouldn’t hold them—not unless they could jump ten feet to the thicker branches. Even with a running start, they’d fall short. At least she would. Kaede probably could have done it easily. No, she wouldn’t think about Kaede—or any of them—now. There would be time to mourn later. Right now she needed to focus on staying alive.

Eden found Alejandro moving around the cabin, throwing things into two bags. Two very small bags. The two instant meals were set out on the table. “Eat before we go.”

“I’m not really hungry.” But she sat down and started shoveling food into her mouth. She’d need the strength, even if the food turned to ash in her mouth.

Alejandro finished his packing and sat down across from her. “We must go back into town to stock our supplies. I was not expecting a siege.” He began eating, each movement efficient.

“Your mistake.” The village and its supplies might as well be on the moon for all it would help them now. She finished her food and drank a little bit of water before moving to the bed. Eden picked up Bernice and made sure her
bolo
was secure at her waist. Then she grabbed one of the bags he’d dumped on the bed and pulled it onto her back. “Let’s go. Those walls won’t hold forever.” As if to demonstrate her point, the entire cabin rattled and dust fell from the ceiling.

Alejandro wiped his mouth with a cloth and stood up. “Indeed.”

She followed him back onto the roof and looked around again. Nothing had changed and the trees sure as hell didn’t look any easier to reach. “So what’s your plan?”

In response, he dropped to one knee and laced his fingers together in a very familiar pattern.

Eden shook her head. “No way. Absolutely not.” Even as she spoke, she searched for another solution. There wasn’t one. Damn it, she hated being thrown. “How are you going to get across?”

“I’m not.”

Her heart skipped a beat at his casual words before she forced herself to think clearly. He wasn’t saying he’d sacrifice himself or stay here; he was saying he had a plan. She hoped. Because the thought of losing him too made her sick to her stomach. Which was just silly. What did she care if he left and never came back? Eden mentally cursed her fickle heart.

“Fine. Let’s do this.” Before she lost her nerve. Those branches were pointy and sharp. Shit, this was really going to hurt. She met Alejandro’s gaze for a brief moment before she sprinted at him. It was only ten steps to cross the entire roof—not nearly enough for her peace of mind—and then she stepped into his cupped hands and he launched her over his head towards the trees.

Eden’s mind slowed, showing her everything in snapshots. Her flying towards the trees. The ravenous crowd and the mere air that separated them. The branches.

She flew into the branches with a muffled shriek. One nearly took out her eye before she was able to stop her fall. Eden hung there, panting. Below her, the infected gathered, drawn by her movement and sound and—oh God—her blood.

With a grunt, she swung herself closer to the main tree and wrapped her legs around a thick branch. Some quick maneuvering brought her right-side-up and she lay there, trying to catch her breath. Eden sat up too fast and the branch swayed, forcing her to clutch it to avoid falling. Damn it, she’d forgotten about Alejandro.

The roof of the cabin was empty.

Panic was nearly her death. She lost her grip and fell off the branch, only catching it with her right hand at the last moment. It brought her feet dangerously close to the mob, all of whom groped for her, their moans increasing.

Eden reached up with her other hand and grabbed onto the branch, wincing when it pulled at her arm. She glanced over and cursed at the thin branch sticking from the fleshy part of her bicep. Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself up on the exhale and slithered back onto her branch.

Damn it, she couldn’t stay here forever. She had to get down. Eden sat up carefully and pulled the branch from her arm; the wound was barely more than a scratch. With a disgusted sound, she tossed the branch away. Below her, the moans of the infected turned into shrieks.

“Oh great, Eden,” she muttered, inching back towards the trunk of the tree. “It’s not bad enough that you’re in a tree surrounded by a freaking million undead, but you have to poke the bear.”

After she reached the more stable position near the trunk, she took stock of her situation. There were plenty of trees around, enough that she could probably keep to the treetops indefinitely. But there was no way she’d ever get far enough ahead of the infected to reach the ground without being attacked.

Steeling herself, she stood and moved around to the other side of the tree trunk, surveying her options. They weren’t great. There was only one tree she could go to. Eden walked along the branch, gripping the higher, thinner ones to keep her balance.

As she moved, she thought about Alejandro. He hadn’t been on the roof, and she’d bet a significant amount of money he wasn’t in the cabin itself. Which meant either he escaped or he’d been killed when he tried to get down from the roof.

She tried to stamp down the sick mix of dread, worry and betrayal swirling inside her, but it was easier to deal with than her grief. Hell,
everything
was easier to deal with than her grief. Over the next hour, her thoughts swirled in a thick and murky rage, much of it directed at herself. What a fool she’d been to think—even for a moment—he really cared about her. When he said he wanted to talk about the night they’d been together, she nearly died. Which was just proof some people were too stupid to live. Eden thought she’d cured herself of wanting a happily-ever-after ending when she woke up to find him gone, not even leaving a note. Hell, it’s not like it would have required much effort, just
Hey babe, had a great time last night. Let’s be friends
.

Eden carefully stepped from her branch onto the one connected to the other tree. She tried not to notice the way the howls of the infected increased with every drop of blood that fell. It wouldn’t help to panic now and she would have to wait to find a safe place to bandage herself up. If she even had bandages in the pack Alejandro gave her. Jordan would kick her ass for waiting at all, but she had to get away from that cabin, from the way Alejandro’s absence taunted her.

A dull roaring sound snapped her from her mental flogging.

Eden peered through the trees, trying to get a good look. The infected turned, the noise stealing their attention from her. The sound came closer before veering away, but not before she caught sight of its source. A four-wheeler with a very familiar form crouched on it, his shirt flapping in the wind created from his passage.

Great, now she really felt like an ass. Oh well, it was better than being dead. Eden waited to see what Alejandro would do. She couldn’t stop a spurt of worry as the infected turned and followed him into the trees. Soon there were only three of them left, staggering after the faster moving crowd.

Eden was about to climb to the ground when Alejandro’s voice drifted up from the ground below her. “Jump,
querida
. I will catch you.”

She snorted. “Not likely.” But she climbed down a few more feet before sliding onto her stomach and then lowering herself from that branch. It left her about ten feet in the air—plenty low enough to drop—but he caught her anyway. She tried not to notice how good it felt to be held by him. At least it was over quickly enough. He set her on her feet, his gaze already searching the trees around them.

“How did you get back here so fast?” And where were the infected?

He gave her a tight smile. “I, ah, ditched the vehicle about three hundred meters from this point. It was simple.”

Eden just bet it was. Alejandro knew all about ditching things. Ah hell, that wasn’t fair. He’d come back for her when he could have easily gotten away; that meant something, whether she wanted it to or not. And she desperately wanted it to be an indication that he meant what he said about not leaving her again.

“Let’s go. It will be dark soon.” And the infected wouldn’t be distracted forever.

Eden nodded, trying to push down her sudden dizziness as she took a couple steps. Damn it, she’d lost more blood than she thought. But there wasn’t time for weakness now. They had to get to safety—or whatever passed for it in this hellhole. She started west towards the village. Alejandro made a sound like he had been about to say something, but then he followed her without comment.

They made good time. Or at least Eden thought they did. Truth be told, it was everything she could do to put one foot in front of the other. She trusted Alejandro to tell her if there was danger. It was lazy, maybe, but she couldn’t seem to focus.

“We’re here.”

Eden almost dropped to the ground in relief and looked up. The town stretched before them and she could barely make out the church overlooking it in the growing twilight. She found herself speaking without any intention of doing so, “The church would have been the best bet, but it’s in the middle of the village.” Way too far for her to walk right now.

“We will use a house. Follow me.”

He moved in front of her, walking so fast it was difficult to keep up. He finally stopped in front of a house that didn’t look any different from the others surrounding it, except it was painted a dull gray that might have started as a pristine white.

“Stay here while I check the interior.” And then he was gone, disappearing into the house.

Eden swayed, turning to face the street, keeping on her feet through willpower alone. Nothing moved on the streets, which should have comforted her, but only managed to creep her out. Maybe the infected had moved on to greener pastures, but she had the sneaking suspicion they would pop up at the worst possible time. That might have been paranoia, but it had kept her alive in the past.

“
Querida
.”

Eden turned slowly, wondering at the concern in his voice. Maybe he’d been speaking to her for some time now. She stumbled, would have gone to her knees if he hadn’t been there.

“
Querida
, you’re bleeding.”

“Yeah.”

The last thing she saw was Alejandro’s worried face before her world faded to black.

Chapter Twelve

Alejandro cursing in Spanish might have been the most beautiful thing Eden ever heard, which just served to prove she was losing her damn mind. She smiled a little and opened her eyes. He stood next to the bed next to where she lay, which meant he must have carried her inside after she passed out. She tried not to let the knowledge warm her, but it was useless. Eden relaxed and closed her eyes; being on guard all the time was exhausting.

“Open your eyes, Eden, I know you’re awake.”

She knew she was in trouble when he used her first name. Come to think of it, she’d never actually heard him say it. It sounded kind of nice coming off his lips.
Focus, Eden
.

She opened her eyes again and found his face a lot closer than before. “Hi.” Oh, that was weak. Eden cleared her throat and tried again. “Um, thanks. For bringing me inside.”

Fury made his green eyes nearly incandescent. “Do not speak.”

It was only then she noticed the first aid kit he had laid out. Eden risked a look at her arm and frowned. It didn’t look that bad. The cut wasn’t wide, although it was a bit gapey. She’d had worse wounds a thousand times before. “I don’t need stitches.”

Alejandro’s glare didn’t fade as he scooted closer to her and poured peroxide over her arm. Eden hissed, fighting the urge to punch him in his pretty face. When she looked up, he had a threaded needle in his hands.

“Seriously, I don’t need stitches.”

“Do you know how easy it is for a wound to be come infected in the jungle?”

Eden gritted her teeth and held onto patience with her fingertips. “Yes.”

“Then sit still and be silent.” Without a word of warning, he began stitching her wound closed. The feeling of the needle sliding through her skin was so much worse than the peroxide. Eden focused on his face to distract herself from the pain. His strong brows pulled together in concentration and the corners of his mouth curved down in a frown. He was beautiful. And she was in over her head.

Finally, an eternity later, he tied off the thread and put away the needle. She opened her mouth to thank him, but he cut her off before the words left her mouth. “You walked through the jungle for over an hour while you bled out and
you said nothing
.” Alejandro yanked out several pads and pressed them against her arm.

“Don’t be pissy with me. It’s not like you noticed I was bleeding out.” Two could play the blame game.

His brows descended further. “Hold the bandage in place.”

Eden snapped her mouth shut and obeyed while he wrapped the bandage around her bicep several times. As much as she hated to admit it, even to herself, Alejandro had a point. At the time all she could think about was getting to safety, not stopping to bandage a cut while they were in danger of being torn limb from limb. Still, she probably should have said something. It just didn’t occur to her. She resisted the urge to squirm and managed to dredge up some anger of her own. Better to be on the offensive than the defensive. Eden tried to sit up, but he pushed her back with an embarrassing lack of effort. And,
holy shit
, why was she in her underwear? “Where are my clothes?”

“I wanted to make sure you weren’t injured anywhere else, since you were obviously willing to bleed to death without mentioning it.”

“I didn’t almost bleed to death. You’re trying to get me naked, aren’t you?” Had she really just said that? Where was her verbal filter? Oh yeah, she’d never had one.

“Why did you not tell me you were injured?”

He would have been easier to deal with if he were only trying to get in her pants. Marginally. “I think I’m going to pass out.” When nothing happened, she groaned. “We should get moving.”

“You cannot escape me so easily.” He smiled tightly. “But try to run, if it will make you feel better. I will always come for you.”

Crap. They weren’t talking about her injury. Or at least not the physical one. Eden inched up until she wasn’t completely on her back and started to cross her arms over her chest. Her cut pulled a little, but it wasn’t bad. He was blowing this way out of proportion, being an over-protective ass. Which should have pissed her off, not send warmth hurtling through her limbs. Oh hell. “You obviously want to talk. Fine. Just don’t expect me to talk back.”

“Where shall we begin?” He scooted until his back rested against the wall. Alejandro made as if to put her feet in his lap, but Eden pulled away. Touching him right now wasn’t a good idea for a number of reasons.

Despite her intention of keeping quiet, she snapped, “How about the part where you used me then left in the middle of the night and didn’t show up again for a year?”

“Ah.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “You caught me off guard that night and I made a mistake,
querida
.”

Eden looked away, her heart in her throat. She’d always laughed at that saying, hadn’t realized just how apt it was. She supposed showing up at his room wearing nothing more than a knitted blanket would be surprising. It had been a horrible idea, fueled by more tequila than she wanted to think about. Eden’s fingers twitched, itching for a bottle. She needed some liquid courage to get through this conversation. He thought being with her was a mistake. It shouldn’t have surprised her—he had taken off, after all—but it still hurt. Even if she expected it.

Eden forced herself to speak through the pain, to control her voice until she didn’t sound as if he’d just ripped out a bloody chunk of her heart and stomped on it. “So you fucked me, satisfied your curiosity, and left.”

Strong but curiously gentle fingers gripped her chin and pulled her around to face him. “Stop that. Do not dirty what we shared.”

Eden tore out of his grip and pushed him away, coming to her knees. “
I
didn’t dirty it. You did when
you
left
me
. Don’t you dare put this on me, you bastard.”

Alejandro grabbed her shoulders and dragged her towards him, inch by torturous inch. “Do not put words in my mouth. Yes, I left you. Do you know what it is like to have everything torn from you, to have everyone you cared for killed? After my family was killed, I felt empty. There was a pit inside me,
querida
, a bottomless pit that you somehow managed to fill.” He stopped, obviously fighting for words, and switched to Spanish. “I was frightened. I couldn’t stand the thought of losing that feeling, not after I’d just found it.”

Eden laughed because she wanted to cry. And she’d shed enough tears for this ass. “You selfish motherfucker. God forbid you care about someone because
you
might get hurt.”

“Do you know what this last year has been like for me, doing everything I can to get you out of my system? Nothing worked,
querida
. You were always there in the back of my mind, the memory of my single night with you, of the time we spent together.”

“That traumatic, was it?” Bitterness left a sour taste on her tongue. Eden couldn’t take much more of this before she broke down completely. She had to get out of here.

He closed the last distance between them where they knelt on the bed, touching from chest to knee, close enough to kiss. “I made a mistake when I left you, Eden. A mistake I will not make again.”

Her breath caught in her throat. She tried to tell herself this didn’t mean anything, but herself wasn’t listening. Eden turned her face away. “What if I don’t want you?”

Alejandro’s lips brushed her ear and she shivered. “There is a simple answer to that question. Do you want me?”

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes
. Crap. She should pull away and put some distance between them. She really should...except she couldn’t seem to make herself move.

He kissed along her jaw and down her neck. “Do you remember how good we were together?”

Hell yes, she remembered. It was the single best night of her life. She’d be a damn fool to reject another chance at being with him, even if this ended badly. It was an excuse and not even a good one, but it was all she needed to turn her head and kiss him, to bring her hands up and tangle them in his dark brown hair.

His breath shuddered out and he pulled her so tightly to him that it almost hurt, but Eden didn’t care because she was finally kissing Alejandro again. She’d forgotten how he tasted: smoky with a hint of mint. Eden traced his bottom lip with her tongue, unable to stop her shiver when he moaned. She temporarily broke their kiss to pull off his shirt.

“I will not leave you again,
querida
. I promise.”

“Don’t talk.” Because if he said that one more time, she was going to say something stupid—like that she loved him. Eden kissed him again, delighting at the feeling of his skin under her fingers. It wasn’t enough, would never be enough. She wanted to wrap herself in him, to stay like this forever. Stupid, silly thoughts. Alejandro had always made her do stupid things.

Which was why she couldn’t do this. Eden broke the kiss, mentally kicking herself. “Stop.”

He froze, his hands cupping her hips. “
Que
?”

“You heard me. Back the fuck off.” Because if he didn’t stop touching her right now, she was going to kiss him again. And then it would be all over; she wouldn’t be able to walk away unscathed.

Alejandro moved back, his dark eyes seeing far too much. “Too soon then,
querida
?”

She tried to ignore the way her body tightened at the husky tone in his voice. “It’s never going to happen. You had your chance and you blew it.”

“This is not over between us.” He climbed off the bed. “Sleep now. I will keep watch. In the morning we must move again.”

Sleep actually seemed like a really good idea. Eden watched the muscles play under his skin as he walked across the room. If he didn’t get out of sight, there was a high possibility she’d embarrass herself and beg him to come back. He left.

She settled back and tried not to think about anything, but her mind kept circling back to Jordan. Eden couldn’t believe her big sister was gone. Hell, maybe she wasn’t gone. Maybe she hadn’t been caught in the mouth of the valley.

No, madness lay down that line of thinking. She had to deal in facts. Jordan had said she would be in that exact place at that time. There was no way she could have survived under so much rock. And the earpiece had gone crazy, which indicated her sister’s had been destroyed.

She shivered and abruptly decided she didn’t want to think about Jordan any more. Her mind turned to Alejandro without a conscious decision. He seemed serious when he told her he cared, when he said he wouldn’t leave again. But she couldn’t afford to hope he was telling the truth any more than she could afford to believe Jordan was alive.

Eden had to rely on herself. It was the only way she was going to get out of this freaking valley alive, without going insane or getting eaten.