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He looked outside and knew this storm was going to be fierce, just like the world they now lived in.
Chapter Twenty-Six
They didn’t need any help
Sasha wanted to hate Malachi, but with each passing day, she found it harder to keep that resolve. She’d been doing a good job taking care of her and Lucy, but it would seem her sister preferred the help of a man they didn’t know. She shouldn’t be pissed off but she couldn’t help it. How could she not be angry?
He came out of nowhere and already he was taking over, trying to tell them what to do.
And even if she knew it was for the best, that without him they’d be dead, or worse, Sasha hated giving up her control. She hated being weak, or seen that way by him.
Lucy stopped eating as the thunder rumbled outside. Sasha moved closer to her sister, giving her the comfort she needed.
“Just think of the sky having a hissy fit,” Malachi said.
Lucy burst out laughing and Malachi winked.
It was so strange to see a man so big and strong, so dangerous, acting so gentle with Lucy. It had Sasha softening toward him, that was for sure.
“See, it’s not so scary now.”
The windows couldn’t hide the flash of lightning, though.
“I’ll never let anything happen to you, remember that.” Malachi gave her a smile, and it was a genuine one, a smile that told them things would be okay because he’d make it so.
Sasha held her sister, resting her head against Lucy’s. “It’ll be fine.”
“You promise?”
“Yes.”
Sasha pulled a peach out from inside the can. Their food was running perilously low, but she didn’t want Lucy knowing that, didn’t want her sister worrying about that stuff.
The moment she finished the can of peaches, Lucy handed her the empty bag of nachos, and started to yawn.
Sasha found an old throw in the supply closet and placed it over her sister, giving her as much comfort as she could.
The old movie theater had a lot of cushions and they’d been able to make themselves some makeshift beds in the main reception area.
She hummed to Lucy until she fell asleep before silently slipping away and going to the window to see the rain pouring down.
“It’s bad,” she whispered so she wouldn’t wake Lucy.
“It’ll get worse before it gets better.” Malachi’s voice was low, deep.
Sasha reached for the band at the back of her hair, releasing her locks. She tilted her head from side to side, trying to loosen up the knots that had formed in her shoulders and neck. “When do you think it’ll let up?”
He came up and stood beside her, looking out the window. “I don’t know. It could be a couple of hours, a few days.”
A few days? “Do you think a lot of towns are like this? Deserted and looted?”
“That’s the only problem with the virus. People tried to make a run for it, and got as many resources as possible,” he said. “Our best chance is to look for filled cars, abandoned by the sick.”
“You think we’re safe from the virus?” It had been so long now, that surely if they were going to get it they would have by now.
“If we were going to be hit by the virus, we would have been.”
She glanced at him and stared at his profile. “Did you know people who had it?” she asked.
“I did.” He looked at her. “You?”
She stared into his dark eyes and nodded. “My parents,” she said. “We were all supposed to go out to the cabin, but … they didn’t make it. I took Lucy. They begged me to.” She sighed. “It has just been one battle after another. We were able to spend a lot of time at the cabin though.”
“That’s good. You missed a lot of the destruction.”
“It got bad?”
“Yeah. It got really fucking bad, especially in the city. There was no order on the streets. Everyone ran wild.”
“You got out safely, though,” she said.
“I did, but then I’ve got no problems killing people. Some people are not so … resilient. They aren’t made for this world.” He looked at her once more. “I am.”
She thought about the men she’d killed. “It’s amazing what you’ll do to survive.” She never thought she had it in her to kill, but she had and would do so again for Lucy.
A chill filled the air and she rubbed at her arms, not liking how the storm was going. This was another thing she missed from her old life; the Weather Channel and finding out what they were in for and how long they would need to stay protected.
“We’ll stay here until it blows over.”
“You think we’re safe enough here?” she asked and glanced at him.
“Yeah. It’s better here than out there, especially with how the weather is turning. No one is going to be going anywhere in this shit. It’s safe. We’re safe. Promise.”
