Life After The Undead (Book 2): Death to the Undead (8 page)

“Well,
well. Krista.”
I
heard the
hate
in his tone
as
he spoke
my
name.
“Her
royal
highness
has left
her
mighty
throne
to
pay us
prisoners
a
visit.”
He
stood
from
the
bed
and
faced
me.

I
could
see
his other
arm. Again,
his
shoulder
was
covered
with
bare
branches, but a
woman
hung
from this
limb. She
was
naked
and
had
the
same
sinister
grin
as
the
man, but she
was
also flipping
the
bird.
I
wondered
for
a
second
what
the
rest
of the
tattoo
looked
like,
then
decided
I
didn’t want to know. I
assumed
it
had
something
to do with why
he
was
in
jail,
and
I
didn’t
need
to
hear
the
story.
The
only
reason
I
thought
that
was
because
of the
research
I
did as a
kid,
when
I
read
about
serial
killers
and
other
criminals.
Some of
them
liked
to
document
their
crimes
in
ink on
their
body,
albeit
cryptically.
They
knew
what
it
meant,
but no one
else
did. I
speculated,
of
course,
because
I
didn’t know.

However,
I
wouldn’t
put
anything
past
Liet.
He
obviously
kept
it
covered
when
he
liked
me so he didn’t
scare
me
or have
to
talk
about the
past,
but those
days
were
gone.
I’m
sure
he
thought
he intimidated
me,
standing
there
with his
shoulders
back
and
fists
balled
at
his sides, like
he
was
ready
to pounce
at
any
moment.

I
probably
should
have
been
afraid. Logically,
it
was
the
proper
emotional
response.
Liet
wasn’t
large,
he
was
pretty
thin, but he did have
muscles.
He
was what
I
would
call
wiry. Instead,
I
struggled to
swallow
down the
laugh
that
threatened
to
escape.
I
had
faced
him,
gone
toe
to
toe,
and
even
though
I
was
injured,
I
still won.
He was
the one
behind
bars,
the
king
who lost
his
kingdom.
His
posturing
and
bodily
threats
were
wasted on
me.
Still,
I
was
sure
if we
had
a
rematch,
he
would probably
kill
me.
That
thought
made
my
stomach
flutter
and
the
laughter
vanish
from
my
lips.

“How does
your
arm
feel?”
he
smirked.

I
glanced
at
my
sling,
then
back
into his
face.
“It’s
getting
better. You’d
be
amazed
how
fresh
air
aids in the
healing
process.”

The
smile
dropped
from
his lips.
“What
are
you
doing
here?”

“We’re
moving
everyone
to the
West.”

“And
you’ve
come
to
say
goodbye?”
he
hissed.

“Oh,
you’d
like
that, wouldn’t
you?
To be
left behind
so
your
friends
from
Florida can
save
you
before
leveling
the town.” I
stepped
closer
to the
door. “But
that’s not
going
to happen.
We’re
taking
you
with us.”

The
thought
had
crossed
Quinn’s
and
my
mind to
leave
Liet
and
the
others
here
to
their
fate.
It
would
have
made
our lives so much
easier.
But,
again,
there
was the
chance
he
could
survive.
I
always
heard
you
should
keep
your
friends
close
and
your enemies
closer.
I
never
knew
what
that
meant
until
having
to
deal
with
Liet.

Liet
threw his
head
back,
a
loud,
raucous,
forced
laugh
escaped
from
his
mouth.
“And
you
thought
I’d
be
a
good
boy
and
let
you
cuff me
and
take
me
wherever
you
please?”

I
stared
at
him with pursed lips,
my
hand on
my
hip.

The
nervousness
and
fear
I
felt
in
my
stomach
quickly
hardened
into anger. Who did this guy
think he
was? He
was
in no position to
make threats.
He
acted
like
a
child,
and
I
was
ready
to put him
back
into
place.
I
stepped
closer
to the
door
and
placed
my
good
hand
on a
bar.

“I’m
pretty
sure
I
wasn’t
asking
if
you
wanted to
come
to the
West.”
My
voice
was
low,
threatening.
I
was
a little
surprised
at
how
much
anger
actually
drifted
out.

Liet
stepped
forward
and
placed
his
hand
above
mine. “And
I’m
pretty
sure
I
won’t be
going
quietly.”
His tone
matched
mine.

I
couldn’t
help
but smile. I
was
hoping,
wishing,
waiting
for him to say
that. I
slid
my
hand
from the
bar
and
took one
step
back.

“It
doesn’t
have
to
be
like
this.
It
can
be
simple
and
easy.”

He
leaned
forward,
squeezing
his
face
between the
bars.
“It’s
never
simple,
and
I’m
definitely
not
going
to make
it
easy.
You want me
to
leave
this
cell,
you’re
gonna
have
to shoot
me.”

I
shrugged
and
reached
into
my
sling.
Pulling
out
the
boxy
taser,
I
pointed
it
at
him.
He
didn’t
even
have
a
chance
to blink
before
I
shot the
electrodes
at
him.
They
hit his
chest,
and his body
went stiff
as
the electricity
flowed
through
him. His
knees
buckled,
and
he
fell to the
ground,
spit dripping
from
his mouth.