Chapter 14
Rhys and his Rope
Olivia
“This place is a shithole,” I say as with a wrinkled nose as I take in the ruined town in front of us. Ketchup, who's perched on the saddle in front of me, chirps in agreement before flying off to find a roost for the night.
Beside me, Theo snorts, and Rhys glances over his shoulder at me, one eyebrow raised.
“Not up to your high standards, princess?”
I roll my eyes at him. “I’m pretty sure if this place was up to anyone’s, their standards would be in hell, pookie.”
This is the first town we’ve approached since I joined the guys three days ago, and it’s not filling me with confidence.
Especially since I’m in dire need of supplies.
The town—if you could even call it that—is nothing but a mass of rubble, crumbling buildings and burned-out cars.
Glass, debris and gore litter the street, painting a horrific picture of panic and chaos in the wake of the apocalypse.
I can’t see any bodies, but that could be because they’re hidden underneath one of the collapsed buildings.
“Hey, don’t mock Rhys’s standards. He worked very hard for those,” Theo quips, earning a scowl from the man in question.
“Still higher than yours, Theo,” Alex shoots back with a smirk. He’s crouched next to Harlow, rubbing her belly while the dog wriggles on her back and pants. I’m pretty sure she prefers him to me now with how often he pets her.
Theo playfully narrows his eyes at him, but before he can snark back, Rhys interjects.
“Alright kids, before you start arguing, we need to find a place to spend the night and I’m afraid you’re going to have to slum it, princess.” He shoots me a look.
I resist the urge to flip him off and instead eye the crumbling ruins of the town. “Are there any buildings left standing for us to hole up in that won’t collapse and crush us all to death?”
It’s Rhys’s turn to roll his eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic. There’s got to be at least one place here.” He strides off into the ruins, giving me an amazing view of his back and the way he fills out his trousers.
“Prick,” I mutter, jerking my gaze away from his ass.
Theo throws me a wink as he and Alex snort with laughter before moving after him. Harlow eagerly trots after Alex, no doubt vying for some more pets.
Sighing, I urge Bean to follow and pick our way through the debris and cars lining the street. A part of me hopes it’ll get better the deeper we get into the town, but no. If anything, the buildings in the town centre are in even worse shape.
Fuck.
I was hoping there’d be at least one corner shop left untouched I could search, but every one we find is either burned or ransacked.
This won’t help my rapidly dwindling food supply.
I’m sure the guys are more than willing to share some of theirs, but I don’t want to be reliant on them.
I need to be independent; especially out here in this brutal world, where anything could happen.
Besides, if I dip into their supply, they won’t have enough food for the journey home.
Something I’m trying to avoid thinking about because I don’t know if I’m going to be alive to make one. Teaming up with Rhys, Theo, and Alex may have increased my survival odds, but this is still dangerous as hell.
We walk the entire length of the town before Rhys finally stops with a huff. “Alright, so maybe this town isn’t the greatest place to bed down for the night.”
“Told you it was a shithole,” I say, unable to resist as I grin smugly at him.
Only for that smile to widen as a clock tower catches my attention just behind a ruined block of flats.
“Wait, I think there’s a Tesco over there.
” I point toward the vague outline of the supermarket’s clock tower in the distance.
Excitement bubbles in my chest. This could be just the place I need, as long as it’s not a burned out husk like every other building in this town.
“You’re a little over a year late to do your weekly shop,” Theo says drily as the three of them eye the clock tower.
I shoot him a droll look. “Not shit. I was thinking about it being a safe place for us to spend the night.”
Rhys grimaces and peers up at the sunset painting the sky. “I’m not sure we have the time to clear out an entire supermarket for the night, not with how close it is to nightfall.”
“It might be our only option.” Especially since, if the clock tower is intact, it’s reasonable to assume that the roof is too.
“A risky option, but not our only option,” he shoots back, still not convinced.
“Alright fine. It’s our best option.”
“She’s right,” Alex says as he casts a dubious glance around the crumbling ruins. “We either clear the supermarket or we hole up in a building that may or may not fall in on us during the night.”
Theo voices his agreement, leaving Rhys as the only holdout.
He glares at the surrounding ruins with a clenched jaw for a moment before sighing heavily. “Fine. If it’s intact, we’ll clear it out.” He turns his glare in my direction and points at me. “You’ll stay outside the building until it’s cleared.” It’s not a request.
My eyes narrow as irritation bubbles up inside me. I’m not completely useless in a fight against zombies. I thought I’d already shown that, but apparently not.
“Remember what I said the other day. Don’t think I won’t break out the rope, princess,” he threatens before I can snap at him.
I tighten my hands on the reins and grind my jaw.
Theo whistles. “Rope? I didn’t realise things had got kinky between you two.” His eyes sparkle as he glances between Rhys and me. “Don’t worry, Ollie. He’s very experienced with them.” He winks.
Images of Rhys using ropes in a very different scenario flash in my mind.
Rough material wrapped around my wrists, binding them behind my back as I’m bent over a bed.
My body quivering with anticipation as calloused hands smooth down my naked back and ass.
If those fingers dipped lower, they’d find me hot, slick and desperate.
Fuck.
I suck in a sharp breath and shove the thoughts away even as heat pools between my legs. Bad Ollie! We don’t fantasise about men we barely know, especially grumpy assholes who do nothing but push our buttons for fun.
I come back to reality to see three men staring back at me.
Theo is grinning at me, Alex has a pained and confused expression on his face and Rhys…
He’s still glaring at me, but there’s smouldering heat in his liquid honey eyes that wasn’t there before.
It only makes the inferno inside me burn hotter.
I’m pretty sure I need to change my underwear.
Ugh. Time to get this conversation back on track.
“Fine. I’ll stay outside like a good solider,” I huff, channelling my previous irritation and not my arousal.
Rhys blinks and it’s like the heat was never there as he clears his throat and nods. “Good. Let’s get moving. We have a supermarket to clear.” He turns on his heels and marches off, rubble and glass crunching beneath his boots.
Alex, who’s been quiet through all of this, spares me one last glance. Several emotions swirl in his bright blue eyes—too many for me to name—before he sighs and follows Rhys. Weird.
Theo shoots me a knowing smirk. “Come on, princess. You can fantasise about Rhys and his rope later.”
I flip him off, which only makes him chuckle as we trail behind the others.
Rhys
That woman is going to be the death of me. I just know it.
Her expression after Theo teased her about my knowledge of rope work, the heat in her eyes and her stuttered breath…
I know exactly what she was thinking about.
And fuck if I wasn’t thinking the same thing.
While shibari isn’t my kink—I don’t have the patience for it—I can’t help but imagine how good Ollie would look tied up in rope.
Focus, asshole!
I shake the thoughts from my head and adjust my achingly hard cock as subtly as possible. Unfortunately, I’m not as discreet as I’d like because Alex gives me some side-eye, but he doesn’t comment.
The supermarket stands intact compared to the sea of rubble that surrounds it and, while it’s large, it’s also the best place for us to spend the night. Ollie’s right, not that I’d ever tell her. She was smug enough earlier with her assessment of this shithole town.
“Alright, Alex, you’re with me. Theo, you stay with the princess,” I order before motioning for Alex to follow me inside without waiting for the other two to agree.
Surprisingly, it takes barely any time for us to clear out the supermarket.
The place is almost untouched, with only being two infected needing to be put down.
Once they’re dealt with, I give the all clear to Theo and Ollie just as the sun dips beneath the horizon.
After putting her horse in a nearby garden, Ollie runs off down one aisle, mumbling something about needing more food while Theo disappears to check the pharmacy area for medical supplies.
Alex sits next to me, busying himself with getting our dinner ready while remaining suspiciously quiet.
He’s still acting off and with the other two gone, I intend to get to the bottom of whatever is bothering him.
Issues within our group need to be sorted quickly before they become bigger problems, especially with how dangerous it is out here.
Last thing we need is for someone to drop the ball and cause an injury or death because they were pissed off or distracted.
“What’s crawled up your ass?” I ask, cutting straight to the chase.
Alex jerks his head up and scowls at me. “What are you on about?”
I cock an eyebrow. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, Alex. Spill.”
“There’s nothing to spill.” He turns his attention back to the pot of food heating on top of the camping stove.
“Bullshit. I’m not going to stop bugging you until you tell me.”
His hands clench into fists, and he stares hard at the camping stove for a moment.
“Fine,” he says with a heavy sigh as he looks up to meet my gaze.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m confused and…
” He hesitates and shifts, clearly uncomfortable with what he’s about to tell me.
“I don’t like you threatening to tie Ollie up. ”
My eyebrows fly up to my hairline in surprise.
Interesting. I should have seen this coming with how his bastard sperm donor treated him and his second and third wives.
A small part of me is a little hurt that he thinks I’d ever harm a woman like that, but I shove it aside.
Rationally, I know that this is a knee-jerk reaction and that he truly doesn’t think I’d hurt a woman.
Not without their consent, at least.
I blow out a long breath. I need to fix this. “My threat of tying her up isn’t to harm her, and it’s not sexual.” A small lie, but he doesn’t need to know that. Not that I think Ollie is attracted to me. Sure, we may rile one another up and flirt a little, but that’s it.
Alex gives me a sceptical look, not buying what I’m selling.
I forge onward. “It’s just a way to make sure she follows orders and stays out of harm’s way. Last thing any of us need is to watch our backs and her when she’s hellbent on throwing herself into danger like the stubborn woman she is.”
His lips twitch. “I bet she loved that,” he says with a chuckle, his mood already lightening.
Thank fuck. We only have room for one grumpy bastard in this group, and that role is already taken.
We sit in silence for a few minutes before Alex speaks again. “What do you think happened to her before she met us?”
I shrug. “No idea. I assume she was living with her brother before he got snatched by the Scourge. Although I don’t know how she didn’t get captured alongside him.”
“But it’s weird, right? That she shuts down anytime we ask her about herself. I tried asking her about where she lived before the world ended last night and she completely shut me down and went to bed.”
“It’s not weird if she’s trying to keep her distance.” Why she feels the need to do that is a mystery all on its own. One I’d love to solve, but I know better than to just come out and ask her, not when she’s so closed off.
Alex stares at where Ollie wandered off with a frown. “Something happened to her, though. Something dark and painful. I’ve seen the scars.”
My brow furrows. “She has scars?”
He nods. “On her stomach and back. I noticed them when she was stretching last night and her top rode up.”
My jaw clenches as a fierce wave of protectiveness and anger rush over me.
I hate the idea that someone in Ollie’s past may have hurt her, or that she experienced something so traumatic it left scars.
It explains her reluctance to let down her guard around us and the nightmares that plague her sleep.
We’ve all noticed the dark circles around her eyes and the haunted look she has every morning.
None of us are stupid enough to mention it to her.
Last thing any of us want is to ruin what little trust we’ve gained.
Footsteps pounding against the concrete floor echo around the cavernous room. A few seconds later, Ollie emerges with Harlow beside her, racing down the aisles towards us with wide, frantic eyes.
“We need to move!” she shouts, her voice tight with fear.
I’m immediately on alert, jumping to my feet with my rifle in hand. “What’s going on?” I demand as I eye the aisle behind her. Alex shoves away our half-heated food, stove and other supplies away with practised ease.
“There’s—”
Before she can finish, glass explodes from the front of the shop, followed by the screams and shouts of several people and the low moaning of the dead.
“Move, move!” a frantic male voices yells before a bloodcurdling scream filled with pain and terror. “Katie!”
Several footsteps pelt against concrete moments before three figures emerge from the dark shadows of the shop. They’re human, covered in blood, their clothes nothing more than tatters and from the abject fear on their faces, they’re running from something.
That something comes in the form of several eyes glowing eerily in the low light, sending shivers of dread down my spine. Infected. At least a dozen, if not more, and they’re all looking at us like we’re their next meal.
And if we don’t start moving, we might just be.