The Zombie Chronicles - Book 3 - Deadly City (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) (15 page)

I contemplated everything.
Part of me still didn’t trust him, but I knew he meant every word. Either that, or he was a great actor. Still, I wouldn’t put anything past that mayor. They could have easily staged the whole thing to convince us to give up the vials.
Am I paranoid or what? But the emotion seems so real. Could she really play the part of the victim so well if she didn’t mean it?

Nick took a stand. “We’ll help you on one condition.”

“
Name it,” Tahoe said.

“
You have to get Claire and Jackie out of jail.”

I wasn’t sure if Nick was sincere or not. I studied the lines running across his forehead but still couldn’t tell. It could have just been a ploy to get Val, Jackie, and Claire back with us. My brother was hard to read.

“
I’ll go get them right now,” Lucy said.

“
Thank you,” Lucas said.

“
And we won’t lie to you either,” I said. “We didn’t take the vials and hide them. We just said that so you’d help us get out of jail.”

“
Dean!” my brother said, nudging me hard in the ribs.

I sucked in a deep breath, then turned to face Nick. “Listen, we all need to work together—as a team.”

Nick shot me a pissed-off look. “You trust these people? After all they’ve done to us?”

“
I trust Lucy,” I said. “She just wants her family back. If we all work together, we can make everyone happy.”

Nick rolled his eyes as Lucas ran a hand through his buzzed head.

“
Dean’s right,” Lucas said. “As much as you hate Tahoe, we need them. Let them get the girls. We’d never be able to break them out with all those armed guards on lookout for us. Plus, they know this town and how to get around. People won’t question them like they would us.”

“
We’re all on the same side,” Tahoe said. “Finding those vials is my highest priority. Isn’t it yours?”

“
Of course it is,” Nick snapped.

“
Then let’s put aside our differences and get on with it.”

Nick pressed his lips together, his voice strained. “If Val were dead, I’d leave you to rot. So help me God I would.”

“
But she’s not,” Tahoe said, “and you’ll never get her back without me.”

Nick plastered on a fake smile. “Fine. I’ll work with you, Lake Tahoe…for the time being.”

Tahoe held out his hand, but Nick refused to shake it.

I turned my attention back to Lucy. “Somebody had to steal that bag of vials. It had to be one of your people, I’m assuming someone from the gang that stopped us that night.”

“
Then breaking you out was for nothing?” Tahoe asked, wrapping his arm around Lucy as tears rolled down her cheeks. “You don’t know where the bag of vials is?”

“
No,” I said, “but we can still find it.”

Lucy sobbed. “How? Are we gonna search this entire town? It could be anywhere, assuming someone didn’t flee the city with it.”

“
Just trust us,” Lucas said.

“
It’s tagged,” I said.

“
What?” Tahoe asked, sounding skeptical. “What do you mean?”

“
There’s a tracking device inside it. If we can get our hands on the equipment from our hotel room, we can find the bag.”

“
No way,” Tahoe said. “No wonder you found me so fast.”

“
If we find it, we’ll give you one vial, like Dean promised,” Nick said. “But this deal all hinges on you bringing Val, Claire, and Jackie safely back to us.”

“
It’s a deal,” Lucy said, nodding her head.

Tahoe smiled. “Then there’s still hope for my girls.”

“
Yes…if we act now,” I said.

“
Okay, boys, let’s get going,” Tahoe said. “Let’s hurry up. I wanna get my girls out of this barn and tuck them into their beds tonight!”

Lucy smiled brilliantly at the thought. “We can’t thank you enough. I’m going to get your friends out of jail right now.”

“
Thank you, Lucy,” Nick said. “Please keep your word, and we’ll keep ours.”

She nodded and headed toward the house.

I knew what it was like to watch a loved one die before my very eyes and wake up a creature of the night. I also knew the amazing feeling of watching that loved one come back to me, seeing their white, glazed-over eyes turn into a spark of recognition, when they finally knew who I was again. Nothing had ever felt better than getting Val back. It was a miracle I’d never forget, and I knew my mom would be so proud of us. I wanted Lucy to be able to see that spark return to her little girls’ eyes too, even if her husband had been at fault for much of what we’d gone through.

Back at the hotel room, I looked around for the housekeeper so I could let her go, but she was already long gone. Rushing over, I grabbed Nick’s bag. I riffled through it for a moment and finally wrapped my hands around the tracker, a thin device about the size of a Nintendo DS.

Lucas grabbed it and turned it on. It let out a long series of beeps, and a satellite picture appeared on the screen. “Got it!” Luckily, some of the cities were keeping the satellite stuff going. Lucas had even brought a satellite phone with him, but had lost it in a zombie battle while hunting us for us before we’d met up with him.

We hopped back in the car, and I threw my seatbelt on. Tahoe sped down the twisting roads of Kingsville as I counted the seconds until I’d see Val, Jackie, and Claire again. Our headlights sliced through the dark night and fog.

A short while later, headlights appeared in front of us, and a horn beeped. Lucy stopped her car and opened the back door. When I saw the girls, my heart jumped. Lucy had kept her promise, and we were so close to getting the heck out of that town once and for all.

I rushed over to greet them.

“
Dean!” Val said, throwing her arms around me. “I’m so glad you’re okay. Did they hurt you?”

“
I’m fine.”

“
Your voice… It’s like heaven,” I said. Nothing felt better than wrapping my arms around the sister I’d just found and had almost lost. I couldn’t stop smiling. She meant the world to me, and I would have fought for her no matter what. It was one of the most amazing victories I’d ever experienced.

Val held me at arms’ length, smiling, tears welling up in her eyes.

I was elated, happy, and walking on air. Everything we’d been through had been worth it—everything! Against all odds, Val had been saved. It was truly a miracle.

Val embraced Nick in a long hug, and I couldn’t help but feel tears welling up in my eyes too. I’d never been a mushy kind of person, but the whole thing really got to me. Not only had she found us after all those years, but she’d survived the bite that should’ve killed her. I couldn’t have been prouder of my sister.

Claire threw her arms around Nick, and he lifted her up, spinning her in a circle.

“
You girls are a sight for sore eyes,” Lucas said.

Val smiled. “You still dig zombie chicks? I bet you changed your mind after I tried to rip through your neck.”

“
I knew that wasn’t you,” he said.

Claire gave me a quick hug. “Thank you, Dean. I’ll never forget what you did to save my life.”

Jackie embraced me in a tight hug. “You’re my hero.”

“
No, you’re mine. I can’t believe I’m holding you again,” I whispered. “When I thought I’d lost you, my world turned upside down.”

She cupped my cheek. “It’s okay, baby. I’m here now.”

Val was not my only miracle. I’d watched Jackie die in my arms, but there I was, holding her again. She was alive, vibrant, and strong—my angel. I knew from that very moment that I’d never let her go. She was part of my world, and I’d hold on to her for as long as I lived. Life shone in those big, brown eyes, twinkling in the moonlight, her radiant smile lighting up the night sky. She was the light in the darkness—a bright spot in our ugly new world.

“
Let’s go get our vials and get the heck outta this place,” I said.

She smiled as a cool breeze tousled her dark hair in the wind. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The two of us walked off hand in hand, closer than ever to ending the nightmare once and for all.

To be continued…