Page 114 of My Undead Love Life

The letter from Olivia was folded carefully inside one of Oxi’s inner pockets now. He hadn’t cried when I gave it to him that morning. He had gone very still, read it twice, then folded it with shaking hands and tucked it away. Now, he lay beside me, silent and rigid, his shoulder brushing mine.

Luck shifted behind me. “You awake?”

“Yes,” I whispered.

“Me too.”

“I know.” My gaze stayed fixed on the dark ceiling. I could barely make out the old water stains above us. Somewhere below, the warehouse groaned as it settled. At least, that was what I told myself.

Something wasn’t right.

Mad’s head lifted. “I hear something,” he murmured.

My heart gave one hard kick against my ribs.

He rose slowly, adjusting his grip on the axe before moving toward the door. Luck and Oxi were already sitting up by the time Mad eased the desk back just enough to open it.

“Where?” Luck whispered.

Mad didn’t answer. He opened the door to our room a crack, then wider. Cold air rolled in from the open office space beyond, stale and sharp with dust. The warehouse outside our little room was dark, only broken by thin strips of moonlight pushing through high, dirty windows.

“There.” He pointed down toward the bottom floor. A soft scrape echoed from where he pointed. Then, another.

It was faint at first, almost easy to mistake for snow sliding off the roof or old wood shifting somewhere under pressure. Then, the scrapes turned frantic.

A low, guttural sound echoed from outside the warehouse, and it wasn’t a zombie.

My stomach dropped, and everyone moved at once.

Frank cursed under his breath as Jan grabbed his arm. Luck went toward Mad with his shovel in hand. Oxi drew his cane sword.

I grabbed my katana, fingers closing around the familiar grip as if it could hold my panic in place.

We walked out onto the second floor. The warehouse below was a field of shadows. Shelving rose in tall rows, and the crates and pallets formed black shapes across the concrete. The barricaded side door we came in from sat at the far end, half-hidden in darkness.

Another scrape came from that direction.

Mad’s shoulders tightened. “Shit.”

My heart plummeted.

Oxi tilted his head, eyes narrowing. “That’s not⁠—”

The scrape came again, and I recognized it as claws against concrete. No one moved.

Another scrape followed, longer this time, dragging through the warehouse in a way that made my skin crawl worse. Then, came a soft thud.

Luck’s grip tightened on his shovel. “Please tell me that’s the building settling.”

“Doubtful,” Mad gritted out.

A low growl rolled up from the first floor. It was wet and dark, vibrating through the metal stairs.

Mad lifted his axe. “They found us.”

Frank grabbed Jan’s arm, pulling her toward the office. “What is that?”

“Who found us?” Jan cried.