Chapter 27
Out For Blood
Rhys
Idon’t think I’ve ever been this enraged.
Sure, there have been times in my life when I’ve been pissed off.
Watching several people verbally attack Ollie has certainly angered me to the point of dropping me into the cold, dark place where my fury lives.
Or seeing the injustice being wrought on vulnerable people during my time in the SAS and being unable to do anything about it has certainly pushed me close to this point.
But this is different.
This rage is deeper, more insidious, and colder than anything I have ever felt in my life.
What happened tonight never should have happened.
The training and protocols I’ve put in place should have prevented all of this.
But in my absence, it seems those protocols were forgotten or ignored.
Now we have a gate area strewn with rotting undead corpses and several dead members of the community that should have been safe.
Not only that, but the people I care for were put in danger, and that’s unacceptable.
All because of a few stupid, selfish people.
I’m barely able to hold back my snarl when I see the people from the supply team that started this whole mess traipse into the dining room.
They’re all clean and unharmed, looking like they’ve just walked out of their homes rather than a battle like everyone else.
The room stinks of sweat, rotting flesh and smoke, and it’s going to be a bitch to clean for breakfast in a few hours, but I’m past caring.
I’m out for blood.
The only thing keeping me reined in right now is that I haven’t seen Ollie or the guys yet.
I’m desperate to know if they’re unharmed, but I need to stay here and make sure everyone who was at the gate comes here.
The first thing we need to do is check for bites, and I want to make sure no one tries to sneak away before we do.
I also want to make sure everyone understands that I’ll be damned before a clusterfuck like what happened tonight will ever be allowed to happen again.
Harriet and Matt rush in, clean blankets and towels in their hands.
They weren’t in the fight at the gate—I made sure they weren’t—so they’re clean and unharmed, having spent their time making sure the residents stayed in their homes and away from the gate as directed.
Harriet offers me a small, wobbly smile that doesn’t reach her eyes as she passes me.
“Shout if you need us. I’m more than happy to get my hands dirty,” Matt mutters as he sends a dark look at the clean supply team before following his wife out.
Finally, Ollie, along with Alex and Theo, walk into the dining room. Ollie’s eyes are puffy and red like she’s been crying, and while her face is blank, I can see the despair in her green eyes. My gaze devours the three of them, my need to make sure they’re okay a compulsion I can’t control.
It’s only when I’m sure there are no gaping wounds that I look at Theo and silently ask him about Ollie. He shrugs and shakes his head, telling me she’s not okay, but there’s nothing we can do about it right now.
Blowing out a breath, I turn my attention back to the room as my rage returns. “I want everyone to strip to their underwear. I don’t give a shit what your feelings are on the matter. You strip, or I’ll do it for you.” My voice is a cold, sharp whip that cracks through the room.
No one argues. Although a few people hesitate—mostly those who were on the supply team—before everyone strips. Once everyone is shivering and down to their underwear—including myself—I jerk my head at Theo and Alex.
“Start checking for bites,” I order before stepping forward to do the same.
There’s about thirty people in the room, meaning it takes the three of us almost fifteen minutes to check over everyone. A few people—mostly the cowards from the car—object and try to weasel their way out of it, but one glare from me takes the fight out of them. The last one to be checked is Andy.
He stands on the far side of the room, away from everyone, his weathered face closed down and blank.
While I don’t know the man very well, judging from the concerned frowns from Tobias and Rachel, his behaviour isn’t normal.
Ollie keeps glancing at him with barely concealed grief, which only confuses me further.
Until I see the bite on his shoulder.
“Fuck.” It’s the only thing I can say as I stare at the ugly black and blue mark in the perfect shape of a human jaw.
Andy clenches his jaw and nods. “Fuck, indeed,” he says with a resigned sigh.
“Can you turn so I can look at the back of it?” While the bite looks painful, it’s still only a bruise from the front.
Andy says nothing; he just turns.
I step closer and examine it. Just like the front, it’s a mess of blue, purple and black teeth marks. I don’t see any broken skin, but as I look closer…
Right on the top of his shoulder blade, where the skin is thinnest, is the tiniest cut. It’s barely more than a paper cut, but that insignificant wound could spell his doom.
I sigh heavily, the weight of what I’m about to say pressing down on my shoulders. “Andy, I’m going to need you to go to the medical building for isolation.”
My words are like a bomb, causing several people to jump to their feet.
“Wait, what?” Rachel shouts as she tries to march over to where we are. Her partner, Tamsin, grabs her shoulder and stops her before she can.
“Rhys, what the fuck is going on?” Tobias demands at the same time. He’s being held back by a sympathetic-looking Theo.
Ollie is curled up in Alex’s arms, her small body trembling as she sobs into his bare chest. My heart breaks at the sight.
All I want to do is go to her and press myself against her back while murmuring soothing words in her ear.
But I can’t. Alex is more than capable of comforting her, and I don’t know if she’ll want me anywhere near her considering I’m the one potentially condemning Andy to death.
A few people—security mostly—look over at Andy with sympathy, clearly understanding what’s going on. Everyone else just looks confused.
Andy turns, his expression still carefully blank, but there’s a tremor in his hands that exposes his emotions. “Do you mind if I say goodbye to my daughter first?” he asks, his voice cracking slightly.
I swallow around the lump in my throat and nod. “Of course. There’s a storage room through that door if you’d like privacy.” I point to the door just behind him.
Andy nods. “Thank you.” He claps me on the shoulder before walking over to Rachel. He leans down and bundles her into his arms while whispering something in her ear.
Tears cascade down her cheeks and she shakes her head fervently as the two of them head to the storage and disappear inside.
Tense silence blankets the room.
And then Rachel’s screams of anguish and rage echo around the room from the storage room.
Tamsin covers her mouth with her hands as tears drip down her face while Tobias stands there, looking sickly pale as he stares at the closed door.
Ollie is sobbing louder into Alex’s chest. Hearing this, Theo releases Tobias and moves to sandwich her between the two of them.
This entire situation only feeds the swirling mixture of rage, grief and guilt swirling inside me. A feeling of uselessness washes over me, only adding to my anger because I hate feeling like this. I hate how I’m unable to do anything to stop the train wreck happening right in front of us.
My shaking hands clench into fists, and I have to grit my teeth to stop myself from unleashing my fury on the supply team that started this whole mess. The only person missing from this gathering is the idiotic fucker who opened the gate.
I’ll be flaying him later.
Finally, Rachel’s agonised cries reduce to sobs, and the two of them emerge from the storage room.
She looks wrecked; her face blotchy from tears and her eyes red and puffy.
She clings to her father, who’s leading her towards Tamsin, a resigned expression on his face.
He deposits his daughter into the arms of her partner and turns to Tobias to whisper something into the other man’s ear before clapping his shoulder.
Tobias’s entire face crumples and tears streak his cheeks, but he doesn’t say a word, just nods and throws his arms around the other man. They hug for a moment before Andy steps back and makes his way to Ollie.
She’s still sandwiched between Alex and Theo, and while she’s no longer sobbing, tears are still running down her cheeks. The older man places a hand on her shoulder and murmurs something, but I can only pick up a few words like not your fault and don’t blame yourself.
Fuck. Is she blaming herself for what happened to Andy?
Ollie sucks in a sobbing breath and shakes her head.
“Yes,” Andy orders, his voice louder. “You will. And don’t forget that arrows are for shooting, not stabbing.
” He squeezes her shoulder and walks back over to me as Ollie crumples and is quickly enveloped by Alex and Theo.
“Do you have to come with me, or are you trusting me to make my way over there?”
“I’m not about to insult you. You’re free to leave whenever and I’ll be over in a few hours to make sure you’re settling in,” I tell him. There’s no way a man like him would put his family and friends in danger by disobeying my order and not isolating himself.
He nods. “Hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to grab a towel. It’s a bit nippy out there and I’d prefer to have all of my appendages. Easier burial.” He winks.
I huff a small laugh at his dark humour and motion for him to do whatever he has to do.
While he wraps himself in a towel, I stride over to where Rachel is sobbing into Tamsin’s neck. “If you’d like to go with him to the medical centre, you can,” I tell them gently. “You don’t need to be here for when I rip these idiots new assholes for what they’ve done.”