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Ignoring her question, I kneel to untie her bootlaces and unshackle her feet. Then I surge to my full height and liberate one of her hands so I can secure that end of the leather belt to my wrist. This will leave her with one hand free, but she won't get the chance to escape me. If Allison makes the slightest move to do that, I will stop her.
I grab the lantern and drag her down the tunnel to the entrance we had come through earlier. With one boot, I kick at the debris I'd used to seal us in. The chunks of concrete and rock fall away, revealing the twilight outside. I pause and tilt my head to the side to listen. Though I hear distant screams and feral noises, I don't detect any signs of fireballs or lightning.
"Move," I growl as I climb out through the opening, towing her after me.
She clambers over the debris, and I lead her away from the tunnel and onto the street. East Exchange Avenue, she had called it. Not that the name matters anymore.
"Which way to the library?" I demand.
"Um…" She squints and bites her lip. "Not sure."
"No games. Take me there now."
She plants one hand on her hip. "I didn't memorize a map of the city. Give me a minute to think. Everything looks different now."
"You have one minute."
"Until what?"
I tug her into me and lower my head to hers. "Until I walk away and leave you to fend for yourself. Without me, you'll be dead in five minutes."
She spits in my face. "I don't need you. And if you ever try to kiss me again, I'll grab your dick and twist so hard you'll scream like a baby."
"Our kiss was consensual. And you'll beg me to take your body."
"I didn't ask you to kiss me."
"Your desire was unmistakable." I tap her lips with one finger. "And you thrust your tongue into my mouth."
"That was—Ugh, I hate you."
I'm certain she does, but I'm equally as certain that she wants me inside her as much as I need to sink my cock into her soft, willing body. She is beautiful, passionate, fiery, and clever. Of course I hunger for her body. But that's all it will ever be—sex to satiate our mutual needs and numb the fear and pain.
She starts walking, and I let her lead me away. Whether she knows where she's going… I'll find out soon enough.
Chapter Six
Allison
I'm tethered to a monster, and I let him kiss me. Even worse, I kissed him back—with tongue. What on earth is wrong with me? I blame the apocalypse and the terror I've experienced ever since chaos descended on the city. How can a girl think clearly when the world is literally falling apart around her? I see no other explanation for my behavior back in the tunnel. Well, maybe I've suddenly developed a taste for crude, mean, obnoxious assholes who treat me like dirt.
No, I don't like that kind of man. So I guess I like grizzled, grimy, unkempt assholes instead.Ugh.Worst of all, I liked that kiss. Whatever that says about my mental state, I don't have time to think about it.
We scrabble over mounds of debris, tripping over dead bodies as we rush headlong back toward the epicenter of the destruction. But it doesn't seem as chaotic and terrifying as it had at first, and I'm not sure that's a good thing. I should still be horrified, but maybe I've just gotten numb from the shock.
I still glimpse demonic creatures now and then, but they seem less interested in us than in the corpses that litter the streets. No, I cannot think about that right now. Even if they're feasting on the lifeless remains of human beings, there's nothing I can do about it. No one can help the dead.
Survival. That's my only goal.
Others must have survived, right? Somewhere. Somehow. They would've run just like I did.
My legs burn and ache from trudging who knows how far today, and I feel like I can't catch my breath. Sweat pours down my temples. It must be two or three miles from the stockyards to the library, and I've already walked at least that far today. I haven't eaten since lunch either, when I had yogurt and a banana. How many hours have elapsed since then? Feels like forever.
"Stop," I tell Dax, tugging on our bindings. "I can't walk anymore."
He doesn't stop. He doesn't even slow down or glance at me. His jaw is firmly set while his gaze has narrowed, focused on the path ahead of us. This used to be a street, but I can't recognize enough of it to remember the name.
With all the strength I have left, I yank him hard enough that he stumbles.
