Zombies Sold Separately

THIRTY-ONE



After seeing the Host, I didn’t want to go back home. I didn’t want to think about Olivia like that. I needed some time and space and fresh air.

A mindless break from thinking about Olivia, Adam, Angel, Lawan, Sorcerers, Sentients, Hosts, and Zombies. And the fact that my body was going to become a Zombie in just a few short hours.

I told Desmond I needed some time and I would take a cab back. I had it drop me on Fifth Avenue. I had to be by myself for a little while and process it all, and shopping seemed a pretty mindless thing to do before I went to the Pit. I got out of the cab. Victoria’s Secret just across the street. “Why not?” I thought out loud. A drawer full of lingerie needed to be replaced.

Nothing better than the feel and scent of new lingerie.

Through a gap in the dark clouds, cold sunlight came through the huge storefront window. I held up a pair of zebra-striped panties. Cute.

“Those are perfect for you.”

The sensual male voice had me whirling around, clutching the panties to my chest.

My cheeks felt hot when I came face-to-face with Colin. He had his arms folded across his broad chest, his head tilted slightly so that his long gold hair fell to one side.

Damn his Dragon magnetism. He was entirely too hot for words. “What are you doing here?” I asked, not knowing what else to say.

Colin gave a slow, sexy smile. “What male doesn’t look into a Victoria’s Secret store window when he’s walking by? Saw you and decided I had to do some shopping myself.”

I choked out a laugh. “Why, do you need panties?”

“Maybe.” He rested one of his arms on a sale rack as his gaze drifted over me, his burnished gold eyes dark with sensuality.

Now not only was my face burning but my whole body was. “Stop that,” I said, pretending to be indignant.

He looked directly at my chest and I realized I was still clutching the zebra-striped panties. “Why don’t you try those on? I’ll tell you how good they look.”

“Funny.” I relaxed and let myself enjoy his teasing and flirting.

“You can model these, too.” Colin held up a pair of satiny soft panties in a fiery red color.

I snatched them out of his hand. “Maybe I will.” I glanced at the tag. “At least you got the size right.”

Colin grinned and I put the zebra and red panties into the mesh shopping bag that already held six other pairs, two bras, and a chemise.

He walked with me around the store, making me smile and laugh and for a little while I was able to forget all of the terrible things happening. Not really forget, but a few moments to set aside and take a deep breath in the brief calm before the storm that we were on a collision path with. What we were rushing into. Dead center.

I paid for the lingerie and Colin and I headed to the entrance to the store. He insisted on carrying the bags and I humored him and let him.

As I stepped out of the store, someone bumped into me and I stumbled back against Colin. I looked up to see Adam’s surprised face just as Colin caught me from behind.

“Nyx.” He stared at me a moment before he realized a man’s hands were on my shoulder from when Colin had steadied me. Then he stared at Colin before looking at me. “That was fast,” he said in an almost bewildered way.

“No, it’s not what it looks like.” My face was so hot I could barely talk. “This is Colin. He’s a Tracker. Just came on the team when the Zom—when the attacks started.”

Adam’s mouth tightened. “I’ll see you around, Nyx.”

He turned and walked away.

I wanted to call to him, but what was the point? He’d dumped me yesterday. But at the same time I wanted to run after him. To explain that this was nothing. Colin was just a friend that I’d bumped into.

“Your boyfriend?” Colin’s voice had gone from playful to something like cautious.

“Yes.” I shook my head. “I mean no. Not anymore.”

Colin held my gaze with his. “You love him.”

“He broke up with me.” I looked away. “Because I’m who I am and he’s who he is.”

“Because he’s a norm and you’re a paranorm,” Colin stated.

I sighed and looked back at Colin. “On Christmas Eve we went to his sister’s wedding reception. I had to rush out of there. Time got away from me and I had to shift.”

Colin nodded with perfect understanding in his gaze. “Brought it home to him that you two would have a few issues if you made it more serious.”

“It was a mess from the moment I got there,” I said. Colin and I started walking down Fifth Avenue with him still holding my bags. “We had a story set up as to where I went to school, where my parents were—whatever might come up, we’d be prepared.” I sighed again. “It definitely didn’t go as planned.”

Colin pushed a strand of hair away from my face. “I’m sorry.”

“I’ll get over it.” I looked over my shoulder as if Adam might have come back for me. “One of these days,” I said beneath my breath.

I turned back and took my pink striped shopping bags from Colin. “It was fun panty shopping with you.” I managed a genuine smile. I really had enjoyed spending time with him. “I’ll see you tonight.”

Colin surprised me by grasping me by my shoulders and kissing the top of my head. The warmth of his lips traveled straight from my scalp to my toes.

“It’ll be all right, Nyx,” he said before he drew away and stepped back a few feet.

I backed up, too. The conflicting emotions inside me caught me off guard. I’d enjoyed all of the time I’d been spending with Colin, but my love for Adam was too strong to even consider looking at anyone else in a romantic fashion.

Adam and I had just broken up yesterday. Yesterday.

My phone rang, breaking the strange current running between Colin and me. I dug into my purse and pulled out my cell phone. “Rodán” was on the ID screen.

I swung my hair over my shoulder and pressed the phone to my ear.

“Hi, Rodán,” I said as I avoided looking at Colin.

“The Paranorm Council has requested both your and my presence at tonight’s council meeting,” Rodán said. “Thirty minutes after sunset.”

“That’s around five.” My brow wrinkled in thought. “What’s the meeting about?”

“I don’t know.” Rodán’s voice didn’t betray anything as he spoke. “But I want you to change the location of tonight’s Tracker meeting and make sure everyone is notified.”

It occurred to me that it was exactly a week since Leticia told me that they were giving me the award. I frowned, confused. “Isn’t it just the end-of-the-year meeting that Leticia told me about?”

“My senses tell me something is wrong.” As Rodán said the words, a chill rolled through me. “I never second-guess my instincts.”

“Where should we have the Tracker meeting?” My gaze met Colin’s. “My place?”

“No,” Rodán said. “Something tells me that you shouldn’t return to your apartment without another Tracker accompanying you. And you need to get out of there as soon as the sun sets.”

A sick feeling started to weigh heavy in my belly. “Why?”

“Right now all I have are my instincts to guide me and something is not right,” he said. “We must be cautious, guarded, and trust no one. I need you to listen to my instructions.”

“Of course,” I said. “Before anyone enters, however, we should check behind his or her left ear to look for a burn mark. If there is a burn mark, then we know they are a Host. Any suggestions on where we should hold the Tracker meeting?”

“We can use my apartment,” Colin said.

“Yes on the apartment and good idea to look for the mark.” Rodán had apparently heard Colin speaking to me. “Colin’s place will be fine. Tell everyone to be there at eight instead of nine.”

“All right.” Something cold and dark began sliding around inside of me. “I’ll meet you at the unbirthday party just after sundown, after I shift.”

Rodán added, “And, Nyx, everything is on a need-to-know-basis from this point on. Do not give out any information to any Tracker or other individual without consulting with me.”

“I understand,” I said.

“Be prepared for anything,” he added, then ended the call.

“Wow.” I didn’t know what else to say as I stared at my phone. I met Colin’s gaze. “I wonder what’s going on. Rodán never acts like this and we’ve never had the meeting anywhere but the Pit.”

Colin studied me as I pressed the speed dial number for Nadia. “I need to make a couple of phone calls.”

“It’ll be sunset soon.” Colin looked up at the sky then back to me. “You can make your calls while I go home with you.” He held up his hand as I opened my mouth in surprise. “Rodán doesn’t think you should be alone with these new developments, and I agree.” Dragons apparently had super hearing along with their many other talents.

Colin whistled for one of the cabs zipping down Fifth Avenue. Three cabs stopped, tires screeching, the odor of burned rubber joining the smells of hot dogs from the vendor a few feet from us. People honked their car horns and leaned out the windows to yell at the cabbies for stopping in the middle of the street.

The way Colin got those cabs to stop—Dragon magnetism must work on more than just females.

Tracey answered as Colin waved two of the cabs on and we slid into the remaining cab. I gave the driver my address then told Tracey about the meeting place and time being changed. I asked her to call several of the Trackers, then disconnected to call Nadia.

Within five minutes we were climbing out of the cab in front of my apartment building and I was still on the phone. Nadia would take care of calling everyone on the team handling the Zombies, including Penrod. I explained that I’d already informed Colin.

Colin insisted on holding on to my shopping bags as we headed upstairs to my place. I got ahold of Tracey and she said she’d call the rest of the Trackers that Meryl and Nadia didn’t have on their lists.

“Okay, that’s done,” I said and slid my phone into my purse as Colin and I reached my front door.

My stomach flipped as the door opened and I went into my apartment with Colin right behind me.

After running into Adam while I was with Colin, I had a funny feeling about having Colin in my apartment. Like it wasn’t right because I was in love with Adam.

But Adam and I weren’t together anymore.

My skin started to tingle the moment Colin shut the door behind us. The sun was going down.

I turned and looked at Colin, and swallowed. With his tall, muscular build, and the power of his presence, he seemed to fill my living room. As if he was in full Dragon form.

The tingling along my skin grew more insistent. “I need to get ready.” With a nod toward the kitchen, I backed up and said, “Help yourself to anything in the fridge if you’re hungry.”

“Sounds good.” He handed me my shopping bags. “Don’t you know that Dragons are always hungry?” he said with a teasing grin before heading into the kitchen.

Dragons. Mmmmm.

I mentally shook my head as I hurried into my bedroom and closed the door. I tossed the bags onto my bed and stripped out of my clothing as fast as possible.

A sigh of pleasure seemed to flow through my entire body as I stretched and moved into the shift.

When I was finished I paused in front of my mirror and traced the point of one of my ears. I wondered what Colin thought of me like this. My long cobalt blue hair framing my pale amethyst skin, my small incisors.

Adam had accepted it. Adam had loved it.

Then why was he gone?

The ache in my heart had me clenching my arm to my bare belly.

After slipping on the new zebra-striped panties, I went to my closet and dressed in one of my many choices of leather fighting suits. A girl could never have too much leather when it came to fighting Demons, Vampires, Zombies, or anything else that crawled out and into the night.

When I was finished dressing, after I had put on my weapons belt, I left my bedroom. Colin wasn’t in the living room and I heard some sort of faint rumble. I went to the kitchen.

And came to a complete halt.

Kali was rubbing up against Colin’s legs and purring. Purring so loudly that I’d heard the rumble of it all the way into the living room.

“What did you do to her?” I asked as I gestured to the cat. Kali delicately rose on her hind legs and balanced herself with one paw on Colin’s knee, clearly asking to be picked up. “She hates everyone,” I said.

“This beautiful girl?” Colin leaned down and carefully scooped Kali into his big arms. The way the Persian rumbled and kept butting her head against his hand to be petted had me shaking my head. “I can’t imagine her being anything but a little sweetheart.”

“Well, try,” I grumbled as I looked at the sandwiches Colin had set out on the kitchen island. “Traitor,” I said to Kali who just ignored me.

“Club sandwiches,” Colin said as he stroked the cat. “A little bit of everything from your fridge. I already ate three.”

“Yum.” My stomach growled. “I forgot all about lunch.” I went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of chilled green tea. “I need to hurry, though, and get to the Paranorm Center.”

I wolfed down my dinner and finished the iced tea. After Colin said goodbye to Kali with a kiss on her nose—a kiss on her nose!—we headed out of my apartment, down the stairs, and out into the night.

As soon as we reached the sidewalk I came to an abrupt halt. Colin paused beside me. “What’s wrong, Nyx?”

“Something feels … off.” I slowly turned my head and looked across the street into the near darkness of Central Park. It reminded me of the night Lawan and I had stood outside of the Dakota Building, near the Pit, and she’d told me how she felt like she was being watched.

That was how I felt right now. Watched. Hunted.

“We need to get out of here.” I kept my voice low. “Rodán said that we can’t come back to this apartment until daylight. But even then I’m not sure.”

“I sense something’s out there, too.” Colin radiated tension as he stood beside me. “Let’s get you to the Paranorm Center, Nyx. Now.”