The Hungry 4: Rise of the Triad (The Sheriff Penny Miller Series) Read Free Page B

violent past has come back to haunt you.”
    Alex shook his head. His mouth went dry and his heart started to pound. He knew he was very, very fucked right now. “Sir, I didn’t kill anyone.”
    “It will be easier to accept with time, son.”
    Alex stared at the man. He felt himself sinking into the ground. He swallowed. “So, I’m under arrest for murder? Is that right?”
    “Oh, no, no, no,” the man said, smiling widely. “You are not under arrest. Think of this organization as being on your side. We are just protecting you from yourself. You are in good hands here. And I think we have just the place for you.”
    The man pressed a button on a small panel on the table next to his elbow.
    A metallic voice came from a hidden speaker, very loud. “Yes, Dr. Rubenstein?”
    “Orderly, please come help Mr. Dragan to his quarters.”
    “On the way.”
    Dr. Rubenstein smiled benevolently. “You are a wounded warrior, son. We will make you whole again, I promise. We will look after you. Welcome home, Alex. You will be here with us for as long as it takes.”
    Alex didn’t want to piss this man off, especially now, but he felt more afraid than he’d ever been in combat. He was desperate to survive. “You can’t hold me here, and you know that. I have my rights.”
    The door opened silently. Two large men dressed in white medical scrubs entered and stood on either side of Alex. The air conditioning came on again and the chill wind made his bare skin ripple. One of the men produced a hypodermic needle as long as a fresh pencil. Alex shook his head, his heart slugging his rub cage like an angry boxer closing in on the end of the round. This couldn’t be happening. He searched for something brilliant to say, something that would stop them from drugging him senseless. All he could do is repeat his last words. “I have my rights. Sir.”
    “Of course you do, son,” said Rubenstein. He smiled kindly.
    The man closed in on him. Alex struggled against the powerful grasp of one of the orderlies. The other stabbed him in the thigh with the big needle. Alex groaned in pain as his muscles clenched. The world began to slide sideways.
    “Get him ready. I’ll be there shortly.” Rubenstein’s expression was benevolent and cool as the silent orderlies took Alex out of the room. Alex tried to meet his tormentor’s eyes, to say something else, but his tongue felt huge and dry and his mouth wouldn’t work properly. Rubenstein’s smile was far from comforting. In fact, it was strangely smug. That made Alex’s stomach flip over and tie itself into ice-cold knots. This was one hell of a bad trip.
    Alex Dragan had gone through the looking glass for real this time.

CHAPTER ONE

    SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA

    Sheriff Penny Miller killed the engine of the Harley ElectraGlide. As she walked it into the parking spot, she looked around the public garage off Fourth Street in Santa Monica. The wide concrete shell and its long, dark shadows seemed to press down on her. Miller sniffed the air and searched the premises with her eyes. Not a zombie in sight. She still hadn’t been able to get used to things being so… normal. She took off her helmet and shook out her red hair. It was now longer than regulation length, much longer than she was comfortable with, but she hadn’t had a chance to get it cut since they’d left Las Vegas. She couldn’t afford any luxuries right now. A haircut wasn’t gas, food or extra ammunition. So once again Miller just settled for untangling her hair with a highly questionable brush she’d discovered on the sink at a rest stop just outside of Flagstaff.
    Her lover Scratch, sitting on the seat behind her, reached up to remove his own helmet. He grunted low and deep as he moved his torso. After being shot in the shoulder by a high-powered rifle several weeks back, the ex-biker was a bit stiff but healing rapidly. He could already raise his left arm above the shoulder. They were lucky the bullet had been a