“The clearing is too small,” Nik answered. “They can’t maneuver around here to take them down.”
“We could fight our way through,” Galen suggested.
“We’d never make it.” Especially not with Galen hobbling like he was.
Nera was eyeing the trees. “We could try climbing.”
The trees glistened with the dark, oily substance coating them. “The black stuff doesn’t look friendly.”
“The zombies are going to notice us soon,” Avril said.
Nera yanked something off her belt. “I’ll clear the way to the Centurions, you run.” Her gaze met Nik’s. “Don’t stop. Don’t look back. I’ll be right behind you.”
Everything in Nik revolted. “No way. I’mnotleaving you.”
“I’ll be right behind you.” Her voice lowered. “I promise. Besides, you’ll owe me. And I will make you pay up.”
The sensual promise in her words made his gut tighten. “One scratch, Nera, and I don’t care what you do to me, I will turn you over my knee and punish you.”
Her eyes flashed. “You can try.” She pressed something on the small metallic object in her hand. “Now, get ready to run.”
She tossed the object, and Nik realized it was a grenade. It landed in the middle of the group of zombies.
Then it detonated. But there was no explosion or shrapnel. Only noise. Nik winced at the high-pitched whine the grenade emitted, but while it was uncomfortable to his ears, the zombies howled. They fell to the ground, hands clamped to the sides of their heads. Their tortured moans were deafening.
“Go!” Nera yelled.
She ran at a group of zombies least affected by the sonic grenade. She tossed another grenade and drew her sword. Black blood splattered the ground.
Nik ran, helping Galen along, but every footstep felt wrong. He wanted to race back to her side, help her.Dammit, he wanted to protect her.
But she didn’t need his protection, and would slap him down for it. He sucked in a breath. Being crazy about a strong, capable woman was hell on a man.
He shot a lone zombie as they neared the closest Centurion. The back door slid open and Avril dived inside, and Nik and Galen leaped in together. Solomon was there, slamming the door closed behind them.
“Glad you could make it,” the younger man said.
Nik pressed up against the side window. The sonic effects of the grenades had worn off, and the zombies were crowding in on Nera. She spun with her sword, lethal as ever.
“Come on, Nera,” he muttered. “Get over here.”
The others in the vehicle were tense, watching and waiting.
She wasn’t making much progress. Nik was getting ready to pop the top hatch on the Centurion and find a way to help her, when he saw her turn and run toward a tree. She pressed her boots to the trunk and leaped high. She grabbed a thick branch, her legs dangling above the zombies’ heads. Then with a brilliant display of athleticism, she swung, released the branch and grabbed onto another. She continued like that, from tree to tree, flying through the air with more grace than a space circus acrobat. Soon, she was above their vehicle.
Nik reached up and opened the top hatch. She dropped down on the vehicle’s roof, and slipped in beside him. He slammed the hatch closed.
“Damn, this stuff burns.” She tore off her gloves and dropped them to the floor. The black gunk on them was sizzling.
“Radioactive, too.” Galen was holding a beeping scanner. He pulled some hazmat gloves from a compartment and snatched up Nera’s contaminated ones. He slipped them into a small containment box.
Nik grabbed her hands, studying their smooth lines. There wasn’t a mark.
God, he wanted to yank her to him, kiss the daylights out of her. But with the others watching, he didn’t.
“Let’s get out of here,” Avril yelled to the driver.
The other vehicle was already moving, its laser saw firing up.
