Chapter 9
A Clear Divide
Alex
Iknow Ollie should rest, but I’m not stupid enough to think that if I refuse to help her, she’ll just stay lying down. No, the stubborn woman will find some way to do what she wants, regardless of what I say. Even if it means crawling across the floor.
But fuck do I wish she’d just stay in her sleeping bag.
Picking her off the back of Bean after the mare had galloped them clear of the horde was horrific.
She was limp, her blood smeared across her face, too bright for it to be a zombie’s, and for one agonising moment, I thought she was dead.
I thought I’d never get to see her smile, hear her laugh, and tell her what she means to me.
I thought I’d missed my chance to be with her, regardless of whether or not Theo and Rhys were with her.
But then she’d moved.
The relief had been profound, crashing over me until my legs threatened to give way beneath me.
But I’d locked my knees and picked her off that saddle, cradling her against my chest as she whimpered and groaned at the movement.
Holding her in my arms after that was a religious experience and made me realise just how gone I am for this woman.
She’s… everything.
But does that mean I can handle sharing her? I’m still not sure, but the idea no longer makes me want to slam my fist into Theo's face—again—and steal Ollie away for myself like a caveman. That’s progress at least.
The shouting gets louder as Ollie and I stumble our way through the door and into the main barn area, Harlow pressed against her other side.
The loft extends about halfway across the entire barn and, aside from the small room we put Ollie in, is completely open to the rest of the building.
A few people have already set up their sleeping areas up here and are snuggled into their sleeping bags with steaming pots of food.
They don’t notice Ollie or me; their entire attention is focused on the argument happening below.
One that’s sounding increasingly hostile.
I lead Ollie to the staircase, thankful that it’s made of sturdy metal and help her down.
She grits her teeth and tries to suppress her hisses and whimpers of pain but fails.
I hate it. Each sound is like a knife to my gut, but if I don’t help her, she’ll find some other way of getting herself down here that could injure her further.
We finally reach the ground floor and into a clearly divided group.
Most of the group is on one side of the barn, all standing behind Rhys while wearing sorrow-filled expressions.
Some people are actively crying, their sobs a haunting backtrack to the fierce argument happening in front of them.
On the other side is the rest of the group, and they’re all standing behind a red-faced Jerri.
“Of course she’d be the one screaming,” Ollie mutters, her tone coloured with disgust as we take in the scene.
Rhys is wearing his usual stoic mask, his amber eyes boring into Jerri as she yells and screams at him.
Theo is behind him, his hands clenched into fists and his jaw tight.
Rachel stands next to him with a hand on his shoulder, like she’s holding him back with a stoic mask on her face.
I can practically feel the rage pouring off Theo as he glares daggers at Jerri.
He’s dying to say something, to stop the woman’s toxic tirade, but he stays silent.
Rhys probably ordered him to keep his mouth shut so he could be Jerri’s punching bag. Again.
I tune out Jerri’s shouting. I don’t care what the bitch has to say. No, my focus is on the rest of the group and the fact that there are people agreeing with her. It’s not a lot, but there’s enough for there to be a clear fracture in the group.
This isn’t good.
And then Ollie goes rigid in my arms. “Oh, fuck no,” she snarls as she shakes me off and stumbles towards them. Harlow follows her, the dog’s body tense as if she’s expecting an attack at any moment.
Theo is the first one to notice her, his eyes widening as he takes in her appearance.
Those eyes snap to me, and I can see both the relief and exasperation in his gaze.
Thankfully, he doesn’t seem pissed off with me about bringing her down here.
I guess he understands as well as I do that me helping her down was the best option.
Rachel is shaking her head, but there’s a small, savage smile on her face, like she can feel Ollie’s rage and is welcoming it.
Rhys notices her next, and there’s a flicker of something in his eyes, but it’s gone in a blink. No one else sees Ollie—they’re all too busy watching Jerri shout at Rhys—until she opens her mouth and speaks.
“Someone want to tell me what the fuck is going on?” Her voice cracks through the space like a whip, cutting off Jerri mid-rant.
Everyone whips their gazes to her, some in shock and relief, while others are looking outright hostile towards her. One of those is Jerri, who glares at her like her entire existence offends her.
“This doesn’t concern you,” she snaps, her tone filled with venom. “Go back to whatever hole you were hiding in and leave us adults to sort this out.”
Both Theo and I suck in sharp breaths, with Theo looking seconds away from tearing into Jerri; both physically and verbally.
Even Rhys looks pissed; the first time the emotion has crossed his face since Jerri began her tirade.
As if sensing that, Ollie holds up a hand, silently telling them to stay put as she stares down the other woman with naked hatred.
“Seeing as I’m a part of the group and was instrumental in saving your ass, I think this conversation very much concerns me.
So, do you want to tell me why you’re berating the very man who crossed the country to haul your sorry self out of hell?
” Her voice is deceptively calm, but I can hear the steel and anger behind it.
Jerri scoffs. “Like you did anything that night. I’m pretty sure the only reason you’re still alive is because Theo and Alex enjoy fucking you too much to let you die.” The few people grouped behind her murmur in agreement.
Ollie cocks an eyebrow. “I haven’t fucked any of them, actually, but if that’s how we’re deciding who lives and dies, then why the fuck are you still alive?
Since I’m pretty sure neither of them or your ex-husband can stand the sight of you and you’ve been about as useful as a chocolate teapot during fights. ”
Theo chuckles, his eyes gleaming with dark glee, and I barely stop myself from snorting as Jerri’s face turns a very unnatural shade of red. Even Rhys is struggling to contain his amusement, his lips twitching slightly and his eyes sparkling in the low light.
“You bitch,” Jerri snarls as she rounds on the other woman. “Just because I don’t whore myself out like you do.”
Harlow growls and bares her teeth at the other woman.
“Jerri,” Rhys says in warning, his eyes burning with fury as he stares her down. “I suggest you think long and hard about what you say next and don’t ever call Ollie a bitch or a whore again.”
Theo takes a menacing step toward Jerri. “Unlike your ex-husband, I’m more than happy to feed your caustic ass to the zombies if you piss me off enough,” he growls, the humour gone from his face as he glares at her.
Rachel follows him, her lips pulled back into a savage snarl that’s eerily similar to the expression on Harlow’s face. “I’ll be more than happy to help.”
The barely contained violence in their voices, along with Rhys’s warning and a growling Harlow, cows Jerri enough that she turns her ire back to Rhys.
Apparently she’s smart enough to realise that while Rhys won’t let anyone defend him—the stubborn bastard—he won’t stand for her to do the same to Ollie. Or anyone else, for that matter.
“This shit is all your fault,” Jerri snarls as she closes the distance between her and Rhys. “What happened to poor Ingrid, Jake and Terry is on your hands.”
Ollie clenches her hands into fists as her eyes flick from Jerri and Rhys to Theo and then me. I can almost hear her confused thoughts, of why we’re standing by and letting this woman lay blame on Rhys without trying to defend him.
The truth is, while we’d both love to, we can’t.
The last time we did, Rhys had a go at us before refusing to speak to either of us for an entire month.
It was just after Jerri had filed for divorce, and both of us had been terrified that he’d done something to himself when we couldn’t find him.
Turns out he’d gone to his grandparents’ old house in North Wales and drank himself silly for a month before coming back.
Those weeks had been torture, so both Theo and I came to an agreement: we let Rhys handle Jerri even if it kills us.
Rhys sighs heavily. It’s the sound of a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“What happened today was awful and tragic, but also completely outside of my control. I can’t control the weather, and those infected were on us before we could react.
I wish I’d done things differently, but that won’t change the fact that three people are dead. ”
Jerri hisses like a snake and stabs her finger into his chest, hard enough for him to rock back onto his heels. “Maybe if you weren’t such an incompetent leader, then those deaths wouldn’t have happened!”
Rhys flinches at her words. The movement is slight, barely visible unless you know the man well.
Anger stirs in my gut, and I grind my teeth together as I force myself to stay where I am and keep my mouth closed.
Saying or doing anything will only make things worse.
Theo vibrates behind Rhys, his silver eyes blazing with fire as he glares daggers at Jerri.
At least I’m not the only one struggling to keep myself under control.
Ollie also seems to notice Rhys’s reaction because she staggers towards the two of them, her body tense like she’s ready to leap to Rhys’s defence.
But she stops short and crosses her arms over her chest, no doubt to stop herself from reaching over to stab the bitch.
Harlow hunkers down next to her owner, still snarling.
Jerri ignores all of this. Her entire focus is on tearing down her ex-husband piece by piece until there’s nothing left.
“You’re so fucking pathetic,” she snarls as she pokes him again. “No wonder the SAS discharged you and I divorced your ugly ass. I didn’t think you could get any more useless, but apparently you’re proving me wrong.” She laughs, the sound brimming with caustic venom.
Bloody hell. I get that she’s scared and probably traumatised from her time in the Scourge camp, but there’s no excuse for this.
“You’re a fucking disaster. No wonder you lost your entire team in that explosion. I don’t know how you even survived it considering how hopeless you are. You got three of us killed without even trying, and now you’re going to get the rest of us killed with your incompetence.”
Several people suck in sharp breaths at her words, including those who are on Jerri’s ‘side’ of the argument.
A few people stare at her in disgust and shake their heads.
Theo and I are barely holding ourselves back from ripping into the abhorrent harpy and throwing her ass outside for the zombies to eat.
The only thing keeping our feet planted where they are is the promise we made to one another.
Especially when I see the look on Rhys’s face. His stoic mask is completely gone, and he’s looking at his ex-wife with a mixture of horror and mortification.
But it’s Ollie who has the biggest reaction.
“You’re going to fucking regret that,” she snarls, sounding borderline feral as she stalks towards the other woman with a surprising amount of malice considering how haggard she looks. Harlow trots after her, ready and waiting to jump to her owner’s aid at a moment’s notice.
Jerri turns her attention to her, a smug smile spread across her lips.
I expect Ollie to verbally rip into her or to snarl something. What I don’t expect is for her to ball her hand into a fist and slam said fist into the side of the smirking woman’s face.