Chapter 42: 42

NADINE’S P.O.V

We walked for days on the train tracks before finally finding what looked like containers for a cargo train. It wasn’t much, but it was definitely a reprieve from sleeping out under the burning sun, and it couldn’t have come at a better moment because the winds had been picking up all day and I was terrified that we would be stuck out.

Dan was all healed now and Jennifer was fine- excluding her bruised pride at the fact that I had been the one to save her. She didn’t speak to me unless she had to but I knew it had more to do with her fear of Rowan than it had to do with me.

I didn’t mind though, Dan was more than enough company for me.

We took refuge in the open container, not caring that it was probably impractical.

“Can we switch?” Dan asked holding out a protein bar to me. “This one has nuts in it. I don’t like them very much but it was all they had at the supermarket we raided.”

I glanced down at my oatmeal bar- it was my favorite- but I didn’t mind the nuts.

I switched with him.

“Shouldn’t you be in your container?”

Even though it was probably safer for us all to stay together, Rowan had adamantly refused to let anyone stay with us.

“Thanks,” he grinned before shuffling closer to me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jennifer glance over at us, a small scowl on her face but she didn’t make a move to join us, she just stormed off to the other container. I couldn’t help but feel somewhat bad for her.

She seemed so alone, and if she wasn’t such a bitch to me, I would have gone to keep her company. Instead, I forced my attention off her and back to Dan.

“How did you get out of the bunker?” I asked. “Were you alone?”

“No, we were with some friends. We went out as a team. We thought it would be easier.”

“But?”

His smile was torn. “We didn’t pack enough food. There were fights about who would be in charge and where we would go next. Only one of us actually knew where the next bunker was but he wasn’t telling. It was his bargaining chip over us. That didn’t go down very well.”

“What happened?”

“One night there was a fight. He was killed. The commotion must have alerted the monsters to us because within seconds, we were swarmed. There was only one monster but we were so caught up in our fight that we couldn’t band together to kill it. I barely managed to get away.”

“And Jennifer?”

“I found her later. She was at one of the usual spots. We decided to go together. She’s a good person.”

I couldn’t help but feel like he was trying to get me on her side.

“She can be a little rough around the edges,” he continued. “She means well. She’s just scared.”

“We’re all scared.”

Rowan wasn’t in the container right now.

He said he was going to find water and insisted on going alone. I didn’t realize how much I had been anticipating his return until right now.

“True, but that doesn’t mean I’m not scared,” I said finally. “We’re still in the middle of nowhere. We don’t even know where we are going.”

“It’s easy to find bunkers. We just need to get to the right town. Besides, I’m sure Caine would move hell and high water to make sure you’re safe. He really likes you.”

He paused before adding.

“Until you, I had never heard anyone call him by his first name before- not even the higher ups. One of them tried once and it didn’t go well.”

“What happened?”

He shook his head. “Caine told him never to repeat the name again and when the higher up did, he got punched in the face. Caine didn’t care that he got lashed for it, he got the message across. No one ever said his name.”

“What does he have against the name?”

He shrugged. “My guess is as good as yours. The point is, he likes you, and I don’t think it’s just because our lives are in danger.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that, and thankfully, I didn’t have to because Rowan hopped into the container and closed the door behind him. He looked between Dan and I, silently assessing the situation.

If he knew or assumed what we were talking about, he didn’t let on, he just made his way over and sat next to me.

“I got some water,” he said, placing my bottle in my lap. “Tomorrow we can go back and get some more before leaving.”

Dan just gave Rowan a curt nod before leaving.

“Are you okay?” Rowan asked, his fingers lightly brushing my cheek.

I nodded slowly. “As okay as I can be, all things considering.”

I lay my head on his shoulder and felt his lips brush against my hair. For a split second, neither of us said a thing. We just sat there, enjoying the company and the solace.

Outside, I could hear the small patter of the rain hitting the container. So far, there were no leaks and I was grateful for that. The last thing I needed was for the container to get flooded.

“We should sleep,” I began slowly, pulling out the sleeping bag. “We have another long walk ahead of us. Dan says we are still two weeks out from the next town.”

“Not exactly. A week at most,” Rowan’s voice was closer, as if he was standing directly behind me. “Then it’ll take another week to find our way from the train station into the main town and figure out where the hell a bunker could have been hidden.”

“So Dan was right, two weeks.”

I felt warm hands bracket my hips and I froze, my hands still on the sleeping bag.

“It’s raining,” I heard Rowan whisper, his lips brushing the shell of my ear. “As much as I love talking with you, there are other things I would like to do.”

“Rowan-”

One hand trailed up my sides and over to my throat. His hold was soft and firm at the same time as he pulled me towards him, my back pressed against his chest.

His teeth grazed ever so lightly over my skin and a gasp left my lips at the same time thunder rumbled in the sky.

“We could get struck by lightning.”

I wasn’t sure where the words came from, they just slipped out.

Rowan froze, for a second, he didn’t say or do anything, and then, he burst into laughter.

“We’re not going to get struck by lightning.”

“We could,” I argued and in one quick move, Rowan flipped me over.

My back was flat against our sleeping bag, his hand protecting my head from hitting the ground as he settled between my thighs.

“There is a small possibility that we could get struck by lighting, that is true. Do you want to sit here worrying about it, or do you want me to fuck you hard enough to make you scream?”

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