Page 99 of After the Burn

“Help me!” he begged as soon as he spotted us.

Harper stopped, but Finley grabbed her. “There isn’t time.”

“Quick, help me pull him out.” She jerked free from Finley and pushed Rory into his arms.

She knelt as the man reached toward her, and out of nowhere, another hand shot out from beneath the porch.

“Watch out!” I screamed, but it was too late.

An infected, its matted, rotting hair almost gone, pulled back its lips in a fierce snarl and sank its teeth into Harper’s forearm.

As he drew back to bite her again, Lucas shot him, blowing his head off.

“Fuck!” Finley screamed as he shoved Rory at Beck and dropped to his feet.

Everything stopped.

Harper slowly looked down as blood ran down her wrist.

“It’s going to be okay,” Finley muttered to himself as he grabbed gauze from his bag and wrapped it. “I’ve got my research, and I know I can fix this.” He lifted her into his arms. “She’s going to be fine.”

“Let’s go!” Adrian commanded, grabbing my arm and moving quickly.

“Keep an eye out for Lila.” I frantically looked around. “She has to be somewhere around here.”

“I don’t think she’s here,” Harper grunted out between gritted teeth.

The pain she was feeling must have been excruciating.

“Where else would she be?” I asked, wondering if Harper was already becoming confused.

Some people turned quickly, while others didn’t turn for hours. I’d learned that there didn’t seem to be any set rule.

Harper looked at Finley as if waiting for him to answer, but he had his hands full trying to keep up and avoid the infected coming from all directions.

Adrian stopped suddenly and led us around a building, out of the fray for a moment. “Where would she be?” He repeated my earlier question.

Finley hung his head, then squared his shoulders and met Adrian’s eyes. “Gideon has been trading unenhanced women.”

What the hell?

Lucas let out a growl. “With whom and for what?”

“For fuel.” Harper’s voice cracked. “But I didn’t think Lila would be involved in the trade.”

Finley nodded in agreement. “He wouldn’t want to piss your group off.”

“Mace probably threw her in without Gideon knowing.” Wren tapped her chin in thought. “He didn’t like it when he lost in the ring to Robin’s man.”

Suddenly, gunfire drew closer.

Wren nodded towards an alley near us. “This way.”

Nobody questioned her, and that, more than anything, showed our determination to get the hell out of here.

She ducked behind an abandoned shed and pushed through the thick brush. A hole in the fence was loosely wired together.

Wren grabbed it, opened it within seconds, and crawled through. “Come on.”