Page 192 of After the Burn

Adrian slid into place on the other side of Beck. “Three.”

Beck glanced at him in question.

“One moved before the shot reached him.” Adrian raised up and fired at another man crossing the yard.

Lucas and Beck both nodded, firing shots off periodically.

Something about the way they trusted each other made me smile despite everything. My men had become a team.

Adrian noticed my expression. “What’s the smile for?”

“I’m just happy.”

“I love you, baby. But you’re not making sense.” He turned to Beck and Lucas. “If we get out of here, Finley needs to check her out.”

Beck tapped my knee with his. “There is no if, only when.”

“Damn right.” Lucas fired another shot.

“Taryn!” Wren screamed as she and Colson slid behind the truck.

Colson grabbed a pistol from a dead guy lying near us and handed it to Wren. “Rotters.”

We looked around the truck.

A rotter had gotten its hands through the fence and caught one of Caesar’s men by the jacket. He fought to pull away while fingers clawed at his throat.

Another rotter slammed into the chain link beside it.

Then another.

My stomach dropped. “Shit.”

“We expected this,” Adrian whispered. “All the gunshots were bound to bring them.”

The tree line was moving. Shapes staggered through the darkness.

Dozens.

Maybe more.

I heard someone shout. “Infected!”

Men turned their weapons toward the fence.

Gunfire erupted, drawing even more movement from beyond the trees. Bodies crashed into the fence, and metal rattled. Hands shoved through the openings, teeth snapping.

One man started stabbing through the fence, and a rotter caught his sleeve. He screamed as three more hands joined the first.

The fence bowed inward.

“We need to move further away from these fuel tanks.” Adrian grabbed my hand.

As we started toward the center of the yard, the western fence gave with a metallic shriek. One support post tore free, then another. The top half collapsed inward, and rotters spilled through.

Chaos became something else entirely.

Caesar’s men scattered. One fired until a rotter tackled him. Another tried to run and slammed directly into Beck.