Against Zombies Box Set, Vol. 1 | Books 1-4 Read online

  “Oh, you were in the military? Thank you for your service,” I gush, just as I hear a small scream from inside. “Guess I’m needed to stop the next war from starting.”

  I head to the bathroom that holds both Nicole and Joy in various stages of dress, clawing and fighting each other.

  “What on earth is going on in here?” I yell loudly to gain their attention.

  “She says she gets to go first because she’s the oldest, but I was ready first.” Nicole shoves Joy back away from her.

  “She hit me, and started telling me that she should be rewarded for it by going first,” Joy whines, trying to pin the fight on her sister.

  “Well, since you’re both fighting and we’re guests at your aunt’s house, then you both can go to bed without the movie tonight.” I decide that this will be the best punishment to help deter this from happening in the future.

  “Mom!” they both say in unison.

  After I get all my children showered, Drew and Roxanne take their turn while their cousins crash on the living room floor.

  I’m finally able to rejoin the adults on the porch.

  “Did I miss anything interesting?”

  “Nope. We were just making a list of things for you and Jessica to get if it’s available tomorrow.” Cooper pats the seat next to him as I cross the porch.

  “What I’m wondering is, how are we going to pay for even half of what’s on the list?” Jessica seems slightly embarrassed that she’d asked the question.

  “If it were any other situation I’d be worried, but I’m going to give you my black credit card to get any and all supplies that we’ll need,” Cooper says with a smile.

  “Do we have a limit? I just want to make sure we don’t go over our family’s budget.”

  “It doesn’t have one, babe. It will let you spend up to a million dollars, so I guess, technically, it does have a limit. I don’t think you’ll get that high, even if you order the entire box store from the internet.” He knows he’s in trouble when I pull away from his arm on the back of the chair.

  “How long have you had this emergency card? Why weren’t you going to tell me about it?” I get angrier just thinking about it.

  I stand up and start pacing.

  “Uh-oh. You’re in trouble now,” Jessica chuckles.

  “It’s my business card,” Cooper starts to explain.

  “Let me get this straight.” I stopped in front of him, only to start pacing again. “Your company gave you an unlimited card, but you only feel comfortable spending money when the world is going to end and no one will have to pay it back? You want us to steal from your company?” I shriek.

  “Trish, you brought the kids out here. It’s my personal expense card. I’m given a limited monthly amount, but since I have minimal expenses they decided that I could be trusted with a larger card. It’s in my name. They have a bonus fund that they pay the card with each month. We have over two million in the bonus account for when the kids get ready for college and we want to retire.”

  “What? I don’t know if I can trust you anymore. You’re saying we have millions of dollars and you’re still going to work every day? Why? I’m raising four children by myself most days because you’re involved in a work project!”

  The air rushes out of my lungs and I sink into an empty chair several feet from where Cooper is still sitting, watching my rant.

  “I’m going to go check on the kids. Linc, do you want to join me inside?” Jessica asks, practically pulling him through the door, her polite way of trying to escape our fight.

  “Why’d you make us leave? It was just getting fun,” Linc says as he shuts the door, blocking out my sobs.

  “Sweetie, I had no idea that you felt trapped at home.” Cooper gets up and starts to move toward me.

  “Don’t. Stay over there. If you come too close there’s no telling what I’ll do.”

  Cooper wisely lowers himself back down and holds his hands out in surrender.

  “I don’t hate my life. I love my kids and would do anything for them, but you had a choice to be with us. I know that your job is important, but they need you there to watch their little league games.” I feel all of my pent-up frustrations tumbling out.

  “You do come to some of their stuff, but over the years they’ve quit looking for you to be at all their events. You could have, and that’s what really gets me.” I start to feel a weight I hadn’t thought I was carrying leave.

  Cooper holds up his hand, hoping I’ll acknowledge his attempt at a truce.

  “Yes,” I sniff.

  “I’ve had a lot of secrets for a really long time. I opened up a lot when we got married, but it was an ingrained habit. Honestly, we’ve never needed the money, and the way I was raised, it never really meant anything to me. I was already making a bundle when we got married, but as the projects got bigger, so did the promotions and the money that came with it. I didn’t want money to become something that we were trying to decide on bigger houses and cars with. I wanted our kids to be taught responsibility and to learn how to earn their own living, and not become the moochers we see all the time.”

  “I get that, but you couldn’t trust me not to tell the kids? Or to teach them how to be responsible children? Am I just your glorified nanny?” I’m getting mad again.

  “Babe, you’re so much more than that to me. You’re my other half.” Cooper slides to the floor in front of me and picks up my hands with his. “I did tell you about the raises and promotions, I just didn’t tell you how much they were. Remember all the times we discussed what to do with the money from each bonus or raise that I got?”

  “Yeah,” I ground out begrudgingly.

  “That’s what I did with the money each time. I put it in accounts for the kids and reinvested it into CDs that would make the most for each of them. I did lie in that I didn’t tell you the whole truth. There were a lot more zeros after those bonuses.”

  I narrow my gaze at him. “So for every hundred, it was closer to thousands? That’s what you’re telling me?” I yank my hands out of his and cross my arms in front of me to keep him out of my space.

  “Essentially, yes. It seems like I was trying to hide something, but I wasn’t. It just turned out that way. Can you forgive me?” he pleads.

  I understand the motive behind his actions, and it doesn’t really change my love for him, so I guess it’s a mistake that I can move on from.

  “I forgive you. I’m hurt right now, and it will take some time for me process things.” I grin mischievously. “When this zombie thing is over, I plan to do some serious shopping. I don’t think I’m going to give this credit card back.”

  “Honey, as long as you love me, you can spend as much as you want.” He pulls me into his lap.

  The past week’s stress melts away as his arms wrap around me, and I truly relax.

  “Don’t die on me tomorrow, okay?” I laugh at the shock on his face. “I may be able to be mad at you or make you sleep on the couch, but that doesn’t mean I want you dead.” I snuggle into his arms a little more.

  “Does this mean you want to take a walk out to the barn for a little roll in the hay?” he whispers suggestively.

  “I could be persuaded if someone special promised to show me the stars.” I stand and help him up.

  “Ready?” he asks, holding out his hand.

  I place my hand in his. “Ready.”

  We walk slowly to the barn and flip the switch off, leaving everything in darkness.

  I didn’t hear the giggled conversation between Linc and Jessica as we left the house.

  Linc

  “I think they’re going to make up. Do you wanna find our own place to do some making up?” I wink.

  “One happy couple is more than enough around here. We have a lot to do tomorrow.” Jessica pushes me toward the door. “Bye.”

  Smiling, because she hadn’t really said no, I take the long way around the barn, back to my place.

  “Hello?”

  �
��He’s leaving by helicopter tomorrow,” a voice reports to his director.

  “Does he have the plans?”

  “There was no mention of it. He said he knew the pieces they needed, but without him, it would take years to put everything together and obviously, sooner is better.”

  “What time is he leaving the farm?” The director inquires.

  “In the morning, but there was no definite time. Should we make plans to intercept him?” the voice questions.

  “Since we don’t know where he’s planning to leave from, that would problematic. Follow them and report which direction they’re headed and we’ll take over from there.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Um…” The voice hesitates before ending the call.

  “What?”

  “I was wondering if you might want to use the two women with him as leverage?”

  “He’s taking the women with him to Utah?”

  “No, sir. They’re driving him to the city, then going shopping. It’s his wife and sister-in-law, so I know he cares about one of them and is just getting acquainted with the other.”

  “You should have told me that to begin with. That’ll narrow down the cities that they can drive to and from in one day. Call me back when they leave and give me the vehicle’s description. We might be able to use this.” The director ends the call with a click.

  “Of course.” I’ll just run over and monitor all their activities. Oh, snap. I’m already doing that. He can just stick it if he wants the intelligence so badly.

  Trish

  It was really hard to leave the kids, even though Linc’s mother seemed so nice. I don’t normally get a babysitter, and I’m used to having Trevor with me for everything. Nicole has been in school the past three years, so I’m more comfortable leaving the others for a longer period of time.

  I have one foot in the truck with Jessica waiting for me to slide toward the center when I get cold feet.

  “I can’t,” I mutter, starting toward the house.

  “Honey.” Cooper meets me as he hurries around the front of the truck.

  He whispers in my ear so that the kids can’t hear. “We have to do this. Besides, don’t you want to spend the day with me? Kid free?” he adds as extra enticement.

  “You’re right.” I concede as the kids watch from the porch, wondering if I’d forgotten something.

  “I thought I left my wallet. Your dad already put it in the truck.” I blow an air kiss and climb in so the kids won’t be able to see the worry on my face.

  Jessica quickly gets in, blocking any escape. “Just breathe, sis. They’ll be fine,” she promises, knowing that it might not be true.

  Cooper starts the truck and I can’t even turn back to look. I just held up my hand to wave.

  “Sweetie, I never thought you’d take an unlimited shopping trip like this.” Cooper tries to joke and lighten my mood.

  “This just seems so final, like we’re abandoning our children to those things.” I keep looking straight out the front so I don’t see Cooper and Jessica exchange concerned looks.

  The truck remains quiet, except for the old cassette that’s playing ’50s rock and roll as we head straight into the city.

  The day seems normal as far as traffic is concerned, but we’re still nervous because we haven’t seen anything on the news about other incidents.

  “I’m going to drive over to the box store. Or do you want to go to the club warehouse store?” Cooper asks as he navigates through the unknown town.

  “What do you think, Jessica?” I speak for the first time in an hour.

  “Club warehouse first, then anything we can’t find there, we can find at the smaller store.”

  “Great,” Cooper replies.

  “Hey, how do you know where to go anyway? We’ve never been here before. Have you?” I ask accusingly.

  “Calm down, dear. I used a map and looked it up on my phone last night.” He grins at my tone.

  “Oh.” All the anger flees from my brain at his reasonable explanation. “I’m going to be suspicious for a while.”

  “Since I have a prepaid phone, I can use it for normal things, as long as the internet still works. I love you, babe. Truth from this point on, even with my project when I’m here. Deal?” He wraps an arm around me while holding the wheel with the other.

  “If you two need some privacy, I can just walk.” Jessica jokes.

  “What? You don’t like to see true love at its best?” Cooper sticks out his tongue like a little kid.

  “Cooper!” I admonish. “Behave, or I’ll have to ground you.”

  “If you do that, he might not be able to save the world,” Jessica snorts.

  “I’m glad the end of the world can at least be humorous.” I feel myself begin to have fun, even though we’re away from the kids.

  “Here we go,” Cooper informs us as he pulls into the huge parking lot, finding a space toward the middle.

  “Before you get out, I want to give you both something.” He reaches behind the seat and pulls out two backpacks that look to me more like large purses.

  “I made you both a safety pack. It has knives, and a gun inside. Normally, you couldn’t walk into a building with these items, but I think since they’re in a purse type bag, no one will look at you or suspect anything.”

  “Geeze, he’s going to ruin my casual look, sis.” Jessica gestures to her jeans and T-shirt.

  “That’s why there were so many purses to choose from in the closet.” Cooper chuckles.

  “Yep, I’m a minimalist. I can make an exception for today, though.” Jessica examines the two knives duct taped onto the lining. The handgun, a SCCY-CPX1, is lying on the bottom with two extra clips. Even with the added weight of the knives, it still doesn’t weigh as much as we’re used to carrying as moms.

  “They both have ten rounds, and the two extra clips give you both around thirty shots each if things get bad. I don’t think you’ll have to use more than that, but just in case.”

  I pull out a perfume and lipstick case that are in the pocket.

  “Don’t open those!” Cooper screams at me.

  “What?” I drop it, startled.

  “They’re pepper spray. I didn’t want you spraying it and trying to take a sniff.”

  “Way to warn a girl.” Jessica pulls the lid off of the lipstick tube and points it toward the floorboard. “Nifty.”

  I just stare at her. “What planet have you been living on? Nifty?”

  “Ha. We still use some older phrases out in the boonies on our farm. We don’t have to keep up with the cool city kids if we don’t want to.” Jessica slings the purse bag over her shoulder and hops out of the truck.

  Cooper grabs his duffle from the back and backpack from the seat as he comes around to kiss me goodbye.

  “Promise me you’ll be careful?” I beg him. “I don’t want to lose you.”

  “I know, babe. I won’t take any unnecessary risks. I’ll call every night that I can,” he promises as he holds me tightly, with the bags hitting my legs.

  I kiss him like I’m never going to see him again, then rip myself from his embrace.

  “Bye.” I fling over my shoulder, trying not to cry.

  “Um, babe? I think you’re forgetting something important.” Grinning, Cooper holds the credit card out in front of him.

  “Ugh!” I grab it and place one last kiss on his lips. “Come on, Jessica.”

  She’s been standing silently, waiting for us to say our goodbyes. She falls into step beside me as I quickly walk away.

  Instinctively, she seems to understand that I don’t want to talk about it. “Do we want a shopping cart, or the large flat cart?” she asks, focusing on what’s ahead of us.

  I almost resist, but glance back just once to see Cooper get into a cab.

  “You’ll turn into salt if you keep looking back.” Jessica lightly pulls me back to the task at hand.

  “Right. Do you have the list?” I question.

&nb
sp; “Yep, along with my extras in this huge purse I now have to lug around.” She flashes her club card as they let us enter.

  “Thank you,” I whisper.

  “You’re welcome.” She hip bumps me and takes off with the cart.

  “I’ve always needed a sister to mess around with.” I feel the smile settle on my face as I hurry to catch up with her, thankful for the new person in my life that cares about me as well.

  Two hours later, we’ve loaded up the goods and had lunch before heading over to store where I can get shoes and extras for the kids.

  “This feels so surreal,” I tell Jessica as we leave the restaurant. “Nobody here seems to be in a hurry or concerned that an entire city just a few hours away is being quarantined.”

  “You know how we Americans are. Unless there’s danger right in front of us, we tend to ignore other’s problems. I think people are more scared than you realize, we just hide it really well.” Jessica holds the door open for me to enter.

  “Two carts this time?” I ask.

  “We always manage to fill two, even if the world isn’t ending, so I’m sure that’ll be a good start.” She joins me with a mischievous grin.

  “No more cart races. Do you realize that the only reason they didn’t kick us out of the other place is because we had that credit card to pay for all that stuff?”

  “Lighten up, sis. Money talks.” She rubs the tips of her fingers together.

  “Whatever. Let’s get this over with.” I sound perturbed, but barely hold back a grin of my own.

  A few minutes later, we’re standing at the rack of shoes, discussing the need for durable, verse shoes that sparkle for the girls when a shot rings out.

  I duck and turn to find Jessica doing the same thing.

  “Should we leave?”

  She just shrugs. “Let’s see if we can find out what’s going on. It could have been a kid doing something he wasn’t supposed to.

  We stay low as we creep close enough to see the front of the store, where a guy is waving a gun around.