Page 179 of After the Burn

“Later, sweetheart.” Nash took another long drag from his cigarette, then dropped it on the floor and smashed it under his boot. “I’ll have to tell you about how I watched your dad get torn apart by infected as I burned your house to the ground.”

“Fuck you.” I ground out the words, my teeth clenched tightly.

He chuckled while trailing Caesar out.

I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. Beck had the first shot at him, but one way or another, Nash’s time on this earth was done.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

TARYN

When the garage grew quiet again, it offered me a much-needed chance to collect myself.

Patience isn’t waiting. It’s knowing when not to move. My dad’s voice sounded in my head again.

"Got it, Dad," I whispered, a sad smile on my face. “This time I promise.”

Losing my dad left me with a bunch of mixed emotions. In the last few weeks spent at his house, we were just beginning to understand each other. I was starting to realize that Adrian was right and that Ben really loved me. Then Nash happened... and now I'd never get to tell him I understood why he pushed me so hard or to thank him for it.

I banged my head back against the wall. He’d sacrificed himself for me, and I’d have to live with that for the rest of my life.

I opened my eyes when I heard the garage door open again. “What now?”

“Miss me?”

Shit. Fucking Jonah.

He stepped into the garage and shut the side door behind him. “It looks like I caught you alone.”

I didn’t answer as he walked closer to my cage.

Narrowing my eyes, I noticed the key ring hanging from his belt. I was fairly sure it was the same one Curtis had carried earlier.

He walked up to the bars and sniffed the air like a dog. “Damn, you smell good.”

The hair on the back of my neck stood up. “Does Caesar know you’re here?”

His smile widened, all his yellow, crusted teeth on display. “You’re prettier when you’re scared.”

I heard the lock click on my door and I willed my pulse to stay steady, even as I let fear shine out of my eyes.

Men really did become stupid when they thought a woman was afraid of them. A few even thrived on it, and I had a strong feeling that Jonah was one of them.

He unlocked the cage and stepped inside. My heart sped up when he left the door hanging open behind him.

I backed away slowly, making sure to put a hitch in my breath.

“Where are you going, darlin’?” The heat in his eyes made my stomach lurch. “Old Jonah has a surprise for you.”

One step.

Two.

My fingers brushed the thin leather strap wrapped around my wrist. It had come off an old tool bag we’d scavenged on the way to the farmhouse. I’d wound it around my arm because you never knew when something like that would come in handy.

Ben had taught me not to discard anything that could tie, bind, or pull.

Apparently, I’d finally found a use for it.