Page 75 of Grave Danger

Before Cody could reply, a wailing siren approached and another sheriff’s cruiser screeched to a halt beside them. Lucia got out, her hair half out of her usually neat ponytail, and her black pantsuit wrinkled and dirty in spots.

“Where is he?” Lucia demanded.

“They just took him in,” Demetrius said. Lucia looked down, and Demetrius followed her gaze, amazed to see so much blood on his hands. He lifted his hands, palms up, and made a face. “He was bitten pretty bad. By one of them.”

Lucia’s face tightened, and she looked between them. “You two and your goddamn out there cases.”

“Hey, it’s not like we caused this,” Cody said. “We have no idea what’s happening ourselves. But there were a lot of… them out there. I hope you listened to me and sent some deputies out there with body armor.”

“They’ll handle it.” Lucia took a step closer and pointed a finger at Cody. “And you never get to tell me how to run my department again. Is that clear?”

Cody pressed his lips together, and Demetrius could practically feel the amount of effort he was extending to keep from going off on her. Instead of saying anything, Cody gave a single nod and stood with his fists clenched as he watched her walk quickly toward the hospital doors.

“Do you think she’d be quieter if she’s turned into a zombie?” Cody said.

Demetrius chuckled. “She’d probably be the loudest moaner.” He made a face and looked up at Cody. “That sounded kind of gross. Didn’t mean it that way.”

“Come on, let’s go inside and clean up. Maybe we can find someone to give us a ride back to the cemetery.”

They found a unisex single occupant bathroom and entered it together, Cody locking the door behind them. After taking turns at the sink to wash the blood from their hands, Cody peed as Demetrius washed his face, and then Demetrius relieved himself as Cody cleaned up and rinsed his mouth. Before unlocking the door, Cody pulled Demetrius against him and held him tight.

“Not going to lie,” Cody said into Demetrius’s hair. “I got kind of freaked out back in the cemetery. Zombies are slow, but they multiply fast, and that shit got out of hand really quick.”

“I know. I was scared too. I kept trying to look everywhere at once, and then I expected a hand to burst up out of the ground and grab me as we were leading them away from Zellmer.”

Cody kissed him softly before unlocking the door. The ER was busy, the waiting area filled with people suffering from a variety of injuries and illnesses. They didn’t see Lucia, and Demetrius didn’t recognize any of the nurses as the two that had assisted them at the cruiser.

“Hey, those nurses gave each other a look when we told them Zellmer had been bitten,” Demetrius said. “Did you notice that?”

“No, I didn’t. Think they’ve been seeing more bites in the ER?”

“Very possible. I wish we could talk with Zenona about it.”

“Let’s see if she’s around.” Cody approached the desk and Demetrius followed. He watched Cody fix that sexy and charming grin on his handsome face and lean in a little bit over the desk to speak to the nurse sitting behind the computer.

“Hi th—”

“Step back behind the yellow line, please,” she snapped without taking her eyes off the computer screen in front of her.

“Yellow what now?” Cody looked down and moved back behind the line painted on the floor a foot from the desk. “Sorry about that.”

“Mm hm.” The woman typed a little longer, then looked at him. “How can I help you?”

“Is Dr. Baldwin working the ER today?” Cody asked, flashing that grin once more.

“Is this an emergency?”

“Yes, it most definitely is,” Cody said.

“Have a seat, and I’ll have her paged.”

Demetrius and Cody turned away. There weren’t two seats open together, so they found a bit of wall space and stood side by side, leaning against it.

“Think your truck’s okay back at the cemetery?” Demetrius said.

“Probably not, the way this day is going.”

“Yeah, probably.”