A Mad Zombie Party

But does it really matter? I’m not devoted to Kat anymore. She’s certainly not devoted to me.
After the boys and I drop off the girls—Ali at slayer HQ and Camilla at my apartment—we pick up Bronx, Justin and River, who’s still in town to help to train the new recruits. New recruits I’ve never met and haven’t vetted to make sure they’re legit.
Bad Frosty. Bad.
That shit changes now.
We return to Hearts and reclaim our booth in the VIP lounge. It’s bright and early, which means it’s after hours, all the patrons and employees gone...which means it’s also self-serve.
“What’s this I hear about Punch Frost in the Face?” River asks.
“Hit and forgive has always been a way of life for us,” Cole explains. “But we turned Frosty down. We forgave him for his stupidity a long time ago, and he didn’t even have to ask.”
River glares at me.
“You got a problem?” I ask.
He runs his tongue over his teeth, but remains quiet.
Whatever. I turn to Gavin. “Jaclyn is a good girl. So why haven’t you committed to her yet?” When he—a single guy—put his arm around Camilla, when he danced with her, I’d wanted to get in his grille and rage. A reaction I still can’t explain. I’m not into her in a romantic way.
But here’s the shocker. I think I’m starting to like her in other ways. The way she fights. Her wit. Her determination. The way she charges forward, never trying to sidestep a difficult issue or pretend it doesn’t exist. The sadness she always carries and can’t hide—it makes a guy want to do whatever proves necessary just to make her smile.
Hell, maybe I’ve even gotten a little possessive of her, seeing her as my own personal shadow.
“Dude,” Gavin says. “Are we gossiping like junior high girls now?”
“Yes,” Bronx says.
“Too bad. Me and Jaclyn, we aren’t up for conversation.”
Justin punches him in the shoulder.
Gavin frowns at him. “What the hell was that for?”
“Anytime my sister’s name is mentioned, I get the urge to hurt you.”
Gavin rolls his eyes. “Fine. You want the deets, you get the deets. She’s pretending she isn’t interested in me right now.”
“Maybe she isn’t interested,” Justin quips. “Ever think about that?”
“You’ve seen my face, right?” Gavin proudly pats his own cheeks. “Everyone’s interested. Including you guys. Don’t try to deny it. Anyway. She’ll commit to me if and when I decide I’m ready to settle down.”
“Dude,” I say, mimicking him, “I hope some guy comes along, sweeps her off her feet, and she leaves you in the dust.”
A muscle jumps beneath his eye, but his tone is casual as he says, “You actually want her to suffer? Cruel, Frosty. Cruel. By the way, I’ve changed my mind about punch therapy.” He leans over the table to jab his fist into my mouth.
The impact hurts like hell and sends my head whipping to the side. I smile at him, knowing there’s blood on my teeth.
“What about you?” I nudge Cole before wiping my mouth. “You and Ali engaged yet?”
“Not officially. I’m still trying to plan the proposal.”
“Something to melt her panties off, I’m guessing.”
“I suggest a banner in the sky that reads Slay the Undead with Me Forever,” River says.
Cole flips him off. “Even without the ring, she’s mine. I’m smart enough to take myself out of the game before the other team steals my balls and goes home.”
Gavin draws back his fist. “You wanting a little sesh with the doctor, too?”
“Bring it,” Cole says with relish.
“Um, sh-should I come back later?” a small female voice asks. “Miss Ankh called and asked me to take care of you guys while you’re here, but I can go. Do you want me to go?”
A waitress after hours. Sweet.
“Are we restricted to drinks or can you work a little magic in the kitchen?” River asks.
“M-magic,” she stammers.
“Then we want you to stay.”
We place our orders and she rushes off.
Since hitting puberty, I’ve noticed that slayers always get one of two reactions from the opposite sex. We scare them, or we turn them on. I scared Kat for years. That’s why she turned me down again and again before finally saying yes. And even after we were together, when she trusted me with her life, she still had trouble accepting who and what I was.
Girls like Ali and Camilla are rare. They see us for what we are—violent when the situation calls for it, willing to cross any line to do what needs doing—and yet they stand by our sides anyway. Hell, they help us cross those lines.
My teeth gnash when I realize I’ve lumped Camilla into the same category as Ali. It’s Love and Jaclyn who are like Ali, not Camilla.
I like her better now, yes, but I still don’t trust her.
“What’s the deal with your sister?” I ask River, and hate myself for going there. Do I back away from the subject? Hell, no.
He raises his chin the way Camilla raises hers, and for the first time, I notice how closely they resemble each other. Same pale hair with dark brows. Same golden eyes. Same flawless bronzed skin decorated with a multitude of black-and-white tattoos. Only, he doesn’t make the fly of my jeans strain, so I can kind of tolerate him.
“I don’t have a sister, remember?”
Right. The whole “disown her for betraying the crew” thing.
“And what do you mean, what’s the deal with her?” he snaps. “Why do you even care?”
“Ali had a vision.” Cole leans back, drapes his arms on the edge of the booth. “Her first on her own. In it, Camilla stops some woman from shooting Frosty, saving his life.”
“It’s why they’ve been hanging out. A lot,” Gavin offers helpfully.
River drums his fingers against the table and glares at me. “How will she stop the shooter? What happens to her afterward? What, exactly, does Gavin mean by hanging out? And how do you know the vision will come true? The ones Ali’s had with other people have been proven. But one on her own? No. The fact that it came to her in a different way must mean it, too, is different. Perhaps even changeable.”
I kick myself for not asking those very questions. In my defense, I’d been too wrapped up in hate for Camilla and my love for Kat to care. “Cole. Answer the man.”
“You’re right,” Cole says. “It is different. For the first time, Ali saw two versions of the same vision. In the first, without Camilla, Frosty dies. In the second, with Camilla, Frosty lives. As for how it goes down, all I know is exactly what I told you. A woman aims a gun at Frosty and Camilla stops her from shooting him. How? I don’t know. Ali says Camilla and the woman have zero contact.” He flicks me a “sorry, man” smile. “Now, if you want the down-and-dirty about Frosty and Camilla hanging out, you have my stamp of approval to interrogate Frosty.”
“Nothing’s happened,” I offer without being pressed. Because it’s true. “And don’t worry. Nothing will.” Perhaps I sound a little less confident now—River returns to glaring.
The waitress arrives with our food, the scent of different spices wafting around the table. I lose interest in conversation. Everyone does. We devour our hamburgers like the savages we are.
Afterward, we talk a little longer before deciding to call it quits and head home.
“Stay in touch,” Cole says as I climb behind the wheel of my truck. The shots of vodka have long since worn off; I’m good to go. “I mean it.”
“I’ll come see you tomorrow. Tour the new place.”
“Good. You don’t, and I’ll hunt you down.” He reaches in to grind his knuckles into my scalp then strides to his Jeep.
I’m strangely excited to see Camilla, and I make the drive faster than I should. I just want to check on her, to assure myself she’s okay. Because I’m a nice guy. Probably the nicest ever.
Once there, I slow my roll and quietly step inside, not wanting to wake her if she’s sleeping. I know how little sleep she actually gets. When I close the door, hinges squeak. Damn it.