Thicker than Blood Read Free Page A

the
walls and I paused, my breath catching in my throat as I waited to
hear my name called out again. Straining my ears, my heart thudding
wildly in my chest, I listened intently for any sort of noise. I
heard it then, the distinctive sound of footsteps coming quickly up
the path, the gravel crunching beneath boots.
    Someone was coming!
    “Shit!” I hissed, shoving Jami away hard
enough to cause him to stumble backward. “Shit,” I repeated, trying
to compose myself, the loss of him inside me already too strong.
“Someone’s here.”
    A soft knocking sounded, echoing from the
front door and through the dark and nearly empty house. Jami
glanced around the room, his eyes suddenly wide and wild with
worry. He grabbed his pants and began pulling them back up his
legs, though I was glad to see that he looked just as flustered and
red-faced as me.
    Shit!” I cursed again, dragging my underwear
back up my legs. Running toward the window, I looked to the ground
beneath. Angela, one of the girls from the cookhouse, was standing
at the door, her hands gripping her apron, violently twisting it.
Glancing up, she found me in the window.
    “Evelyn, quickly,” she pleaded, gesturing for
me to come down. Repeatedly, she glanced over her shoulder, back to
me, and over her shoulder again, as if she was afraid that she’d
been followed, or worried that someone was watching her. Looking
her over, I realized that not only was she still wearing her apron,
but she also had flour in her hair, all telling me that she must
have departed the cookhouse in a hurry.
    Fredericksville functioned like any other
well-oiled machine. Everyone had a job to do, and everything worked
fine as long as people did those jobs, and did them well. Just like
before the infection, there were certain jobs that held more
importance, more sway, than others. Contrary to public opinion, it
was my personal belief that every job held just as much importance
as any other, simply because a leader could not exist without his
citizens, and vice versa. Even the children responsible for
recycling our garbage were important, and in my humble opinion,
much more so than the cruel men in charge.
    Not everyone shared my belief, though. My
husband, the superior bastard that he was, was one of the many men
around here always looking down on anyone he believed to be lower
than him.
    Turning away from Angela, I found Jami
sliding his military jacket over his broad shoulders, his pants
once again buttoned. Realizing another of our few-and-far-between
moments had ended, a pang of regret passed through me. I watched
him tucking his gun back inside its holster, until his gaze finally
found mine.
    Smirking and without another word, he turned
away, already heading for the stairs. No kiss good-bye, not even a
longing glance over his shoulder. I wanted to be pissed about his
indifference; I should have been pissed. My adoring husband always
gave me a kiss good-bye whether I wanted one or not, yet Jami gave
me nothing. Nothing to cling to when he wasn’t here, nothing to
tide me over while Mason demanded I be his adoring wife. As was his
usual MO, Jami just left, leaving me desperate for more of him.
    I heard the soft click of the back door as it
closed, signaling Jami’s departure, yet I continued to stand there,
waiting for one more minute—the longest of my life—before
descending the stairs. Taking the steps two at a time, I shook my
head, dismayed. That was too close; we were getting reckless. Or at
least I was, although I wasn’t exactly sure if I cared anymore.
    No, scratch that. I did care. My thoughts
veered to Leisel, my best friend. She was the only family I had
left, and I couldn’t deny that I still in fact cared. I had to
care, for her sake, because if I didn’t, she wouldn’t have survived
this place, this world. Her dependence on me and my strength could
grate at times, but then, I couldn’t fault her so completely. I had
dark days of my own during which I longed to end