Grace Lost (The Grace Series) Read Free Page A

blood.  I must have been in
shock, because I reacted by giggling. No one in their right mind would giggle
at such a horrific sight.
    “Zoe?” called Boggs.  “You
ok?”
    I held my hand over my mouth,
trying to stifle the chuckling that I knew had no appropriateness right
now.  My laughs turned to sobs, still muffled by my own hand.
    “Zoe, shhhh . There’s no
one upstairs.  I checked everywhere.”  He walked down the steps two
at a time and joined me on the landing.  He took my free hand in his and
guided me up the stairs.  In the back waistband of his jeans was his dad’s
Kahr .45 caliber pistol.  I had always hated that his family kept
guns.  Now, though, I found the sight of the firearm comforting.
    Once in the living room, Boggs
walked to an end table and picked up his cell phone.  I watched as he
punched a few buttons and listened.  “No service, Zo.  Let’s grab
what we can and get out of here.”
    “I’m not sure I can do this,
Boggs.  This can’t be real.”  I could hear hysteria building in my
own voice.
    He wrapped his arms around me and
squeezed.  “We’ll do this together, Zoe.  Just hold it together for
me?”  He kissed me on the forehead.
    “There are more of them out
there,” I said in a strained voice.  “I saw them, out front.”
    He nodded, and then kissed my
forehead again.  “Let’s get to the kitchen and look at your leg.”
    We walked to the kitchen together.
The room was lit by a picture window that overlooked the greenbelt from which
we had just come. I stood looking out that window, watching tree leaves dancing
from a light breeze.
    “Zoe, take your jeans
off.”   At any other time I’d make a joke.  Instead, I
unbuttoned, unzipped, and slid them off without saying a word as Boggs walked
to the pantry.
    “My mom keeps a first aid kit in
here.  Let’s be sure to take it with us.”  He walked toward the
sink.  “Can you hop up here so I can look it over and clean it, Zo?”
    “Ya, I think so.”  I walked
to the sink and put my hands on the counter behind me, and hoisted myself up,
wincing from the pain.
    “It’s hurting pretty bad?” asked
Boggs.
    “Not too bad,” I lied.
    He bent down to look at the wound
on my hip more closely.  “It’s not big but it looks deep.”
    “Great.”
    “Have you had a tetanus shot?”
    “Ya, last year
when I stepped on a nail.”
    He opened a little flat square
package and removed a small alcohol wipe. “Hold still Zoe, it might
sting.”  He used the cold wipe to clean the wound, causing me to hold my
breath and make fists.
    Boggs sighed.  “Sorry, Zo.   I know that hurt.  It looks like a
puncture.  I’m just going to put some Neosporin and a band aid on it, ok?”
    I nodded, but remained
silent.  I knew if I tried to talk I’d start crying.
    Once I was slathered in antibiotic
ointment and patched up with a band aid, Boggs helped me down and I sat at the
kitchen table while he looked for empty boxes.  It didn’t take him long to
come back from the garage with two sturdy shipping boxes.  He busied
himself filling them with cans from his mother’s pantry.
    “Mrs. Park is dead.  She’s
lying on the Robinson’s lawn.”  My voice was lacking in emotion, which
must have been what caused Boggs to stop and look at me.
    “I have a feeling a lot of people
are dead, Zoe.  Let’s stay focused till we get out of here, ok?”
    “’Kay.”  I returned to looking out at the
greenbelt.  
    “Zoe.” Boggs’ voice calling my
name was faint.  I ignored it and kept looking out the window.  “ Zoe
Kate .”  I looked at him.  “Go in the drawer under the microwave
and grab the can opener?  Please?”
    In answer, I walked to the bank of
kitchen drawers and quickly found the small hand appliance.  I walked it
over to the box where Boggs was busy packing supplies and dropped it in. 
    “Are there any peaches?” I
asked.  It seemed like a mindless question.
    “Yes.”
    We worked together