Devon came forward, resting his hands gently on her shoulders as he pulled her away. Julian walked past her to look out the window, shaking his head as his lip curled in disgust. “Disgusting, vile creatures,” he muttered. “There is one thing that we don’t have in this little store.”
“Blood,” Cassie answered for him.
“Yes.”
They were silent, the three living dead staring at each other for a long, tense moment. Cassie shifted uncomfortably acutely aware of the fact that she was the only morsel in front of them. “Well, let’s gather some supplies and get out of here,” she said softly.
“No go. We’re going to be here for awhile.” Julian pointed out the window to the small ray of light breaking over the horizon. “Not all of us are lucky enough to withstand its rays.”
Cassie winced at the reminder of what had been done to Julian while they had been prisoners. Their captors had exposed him to long periods of UV light to see if he could withstand it, like Devon could. Unfortunately, he couldn’t, and Cassie could still see the lingering remnant of a burn at the edge of his platinum blond hair. “Aren’t we?” Devon inquired in a low growl, his hands tightening briefly on Cassie’s shoulders.
Cassie shot Devon a fierce look. He could not know what had happened to Julian in there, but there was no need to instigate him. Julian quirked an eyebrow in amusement, though it did little to cover the tension thrumming through him. “I may have been on this earth for a long time, but that is one trick that even I have not managed to master. Let’s get the others.”
He turned away, gliding gracefully back down the aisles. Cassie moved to follow him but Devon held her back. She glanced questioningly at him. His face was intense, his eyes hard. “Cassie I don’t know what has happened to you, or to Julian, over the past couple of weeks. I don’t know why the three of you are together.” He broke off for a moment, studying her intently. Cassie knew that he wanted an explanation, but she was not ready to give him one yet. She was not ready to relive that horror right now. He sighed softly; his hands briefly stroked her arms. “I know you feel that we can trust him, but…”
“I do trust him,” she interrupted fiercely. “I know it’s asking a lot of you Devon, but you must trust me on this. Julian will not do anything to hurt me.”
A strange look crossed his face, a flicker of hurt and worry flashed through his eyes. Her hands tightened upon him, she wished that she could make him understand, but there wasn’t time for that right now. “Ok, fine” he relented. “If you trust him around your friends then I will also.”
Cassie nodded, wishing she could explain everything to him, but knowing that words could never truly make him understand. “I do Devon. I trust him completely.”
His eyes widened in surprise, his hands tightened briefly on her. She knew that she was confusing him, knew that he didn’t understand, and that he was wounded, but she could not help it. There was no time now, and she needed him on her side. She needed him not to instigate Julian. She needed him. He stared at her for a moment longer before nodding briskly. “Then let’s go.”
She followed him back to the front of the store, and outside. Annabelle was standing by the SUV, her eyes rapidly searching the surrounding area before darting nervously toward the sky. “We’ll be staying here for now,” Julian announced.
Annabelle’s shoulders slouched slightly in relief as she nodded briskly. She turned to the vehicle, throwing open the driver’s side door. “Come on,” she called into it.
CHAPTER 3
Cassie waited impatiently for the microwave to beep. Her frozen pizza turned slowly inside, the plate bumped every once in awhile against the sides of the machine. Her mouth watered as the scent of the bubbling cheese filled the air. Turning away, before she drove herself crazy with hunger, Cassie looked around the small room they had discovered behind the large row of candy bars.
Inside were a coffee pot, small mini fridge, and microwave. There was also a little TV and radio. Devon was fiddling with the TV, trying to find a channel, but receiving nothing. He slammed his hands off the side of it; a loud curse escaped him as he switched it off in frustration.
“Beating on it won’t make the cable come back on.”
Cassie glanced over her shoulder as Julian appeared in the doorway, smiling in wry amusement. His platinum hair was still damp and disheveled from washing it in the same sink that Cassie had used to clean herself up in. He had slipped on a pair of jeans, and a flannel shirt that looked completely out of place on him. Yet, he was still magnificent and gorgeous. She shook her head at him as Devon turned, scowling fiercely. “Thanks for the info. Have any more little tidbits of advice for me?” Devon snarled.
“Now now, no need to be snippy,” Julian replied lightly.
Devon’s scowl deepened as he rose swiftly to his feet, his body shook with frustration and anger. Cassie’s eyes widened, fear boiled through her as she glanced rapidly between the two of them. Julian still appeared casual, but beneath his calm exterior she sensed a rising tension inside of him. They were both spoiling for a fight.
“Stop it,” Cassie warned, stepping between the two of them. She was growing impatient with their bickering and constant baiting of one another. Devon was the first one to back down, turning away from them as the microwave beeped loudly. Cassie’s mouth watered as he pulled the plate out, his eyes latching back on Julian as he handed it to her. Cassie eagerly seized hold of the plate, choosing to ignore them for the time being.
“We found a storage area,” Julian informed them. “In the cellar.”
Cassie blew on her steaming pizza. She was very tempted to start eating it now, and to hell with the burnt mouth, but Julian’s words enticed her almost as much as the pizza did. “There’s a cellar?” she inquired, in between blowing on her overheated meal.
“Yes, come on.”
Cassie glanced at Devon before following Julian from the room and toward the back of the store. A large mat had been pulled back to reveal the wooden planks of the floor. In the middle of the planks was an open trap door with a single metal ring at the end of it. Everyone was gathered around the trapdoor, peering into the darkness below.
Cassie forgot about her pizza as she stepped next to Chris. The harsh scent of mildew wafted up, but nothing stirred within the dark. “I don’t sense anything down there,” Chris said softly.