Burden of Survival: Killing the Dead : Season Two Read Free

caring for others was so utterly the opposite of everyone I had ever known that I was constantly amazed at it.
    It wasn’t just self-preservation like many we’d met since all this began. I could understand that and despise them. Those people who knew others needed help but wouldn’t put themselves in harms’ way to do so.
    Ryan wasn’t like that. He had frequently risked his life to save me and others, even strangers. The fact was though that he only really did it because he knew I wanted him to. If not for those few times he did something without realising it didn’t benefit him, I wouldn’t be able to love him.
    When he’d saved Emma, a young girl he’d found when cut off from our group. He’d had no need to save her. He was alone and no one would have known if he’d left her or killed her. That he had actually saved her life and brought her along with him told me that there was something inside of him that was worth loving. Well that and his reaction to her death. His vengeance had been swift and complete. Surely that was done because he’d cared for the child.
    Over my time with him I’d seen more of those little pieces of himself that he kept buried far away from others. He wasn’t just the cold blooded killer that even he thought he was, he was something more.
    That he was a killer though couldn’t be denied. A serial killer before the apocalypse and since then… well, I couldn’t say how many people living and undead he’d killed. Somehow it didn’t matter so long as he helped protect those innocents who needed to be protected.
    That promise he’d made to me, all those months ago. That was the one thing that kept him from being the kind of monster we’d met so many times since then. It was a fine line and I knew that he killed others but so long as they weren’t innocents, I found that I could still love him.
    “Morning,” Jenny said.
    I jumped at her sudden appearance from beside the tree and grimaced at her look of pleasure at my discomfort. Ryan didn’t seem fazed and I figured he likely knew she was there all along.
    “Good morning,” I said. Stay polite I told myself.
    The slim woman had her hand resting against the handle of the large carving knife that stuck out of her belt. Since Ryan had rescued her and killed her abusers, she’d been doing her best to emulate him as much as possible, following him around like a lovesick puppy.
    “We’ll leave you here,” Ryan said to me.
    “Don’t forget to see Will about the supplies,” I reminded him and he nodded absently.
    He pulled his arm free and paused as he waited for something. I smiled and patted him gently on the arm. He hated public displays of affection from others and more so when he was involved and I wouldn’t put him through that. He smiled warmly at me in thanks before setting off into the trees with Jenny following.
    Jealous bitch . I couldn’t help the thought as I watched him walk away. She’d spend the day with him and I hated that. The worst part was I knew he didn’t even realise how badly Jenny wanted to be with him.
    Even if he did, I doubted that he’d do anything with her. He’d had ample opportunity to be with other women while I was with him and he never had. None of them had been of interest to him but I had, which is a thought I held on to as he walked away with a woman who definitely wanted him.
           I pushed my worries about that to one side as I approached the round house. The doors were open and the people were up and about already. Cass and Gabby were leaning against the wall chatting as they waited for me.
    Several people nodded or waved in greeting as I passed. Too many though watched me warily. They knew I worked hard to help them but they couldn’t understand my choice of bed partner.
    “Hey,” Cass greeted brightly.
    “Good morning,” Gabby added.
    I smiled greetings at them both. Cass had been a friend since Ryan first rescued her and brought her to us while we’d found Gabby