Afterglow: An Apocalypse Romance Read Online Free PDF Page A

With shocking ferocity, his anger swelled even more when he imagined these men putting their hands on Nina.
    “Fine,” Nina whispered. “I’ll get the middle guy and the one on the right. You take the one on the left.”
    Was she messing with him? But there was no time to argue. The men crouched low and began to run for the house. “Go,” he whispered.
    Both of them raised their bodies as little as possible as their hands came up, guns pointed at the men. He aimed at the running man, his finger steady on the trigger, his body solid and relaxed, and with a gentle motion squeezed the trigger. The man fell, and he noticed the man in the middle falling too. The man on the right was already down. She was fast as hell.
    Nina sank to the floor, and Creed winced at the knowledge that she was sitting down in the broken shards of glass from the window.
    “Get up,” he said, reaching out his hand.
    He was surprised when she took it, and even more surprised at how impossibly small her hand was compared to his. This immediate comparison made his heart twinge. No. Not going there . He squeezed her hand a little harder than he needed to as he led her to the couch.
    “Sit,” he demanded. She complied. “You OK, Nina?” he asked.
    “Fine.” She took a deep breath, and he could see the resolve pass over her face. Even if she wasn’t fine, she damn well wasn’t going to let it stop her. He admired that. But he also knew from experience that hiding your emotions too much could destroy someone.
    “You never killed a person before.” It was a statement, not a question. He could tell from the way she was acting.
    “Uh, no? My life prior to this wasn’t spent going around shooting strangers.”
    He didn’t say anything, just waited for her to continue.
    “And why do you seem so calm about it?” she shot in his direction. “Should I take that to mean you have killed someone before?”
    Again he didn’t respond, just sank down onto the couch next to her.
    “You have, haven’t you. Figures. The first trustworthy person I meet is actually a killer. How come only assholes survived?”
    “I may be an asshole,” he finally said, “and I may also be a killer. Technically. Military, if it makes a difference. Marines.”
    A slight blush crossed her cheeks, and her mouth fell open slightly. She was embarrassed! Good. Let her be. Maybe it would take her down a peg or two. “I’m sorry. Seriously. That’s different.”
    He shrugged. He didn’t want to get into it. When he sensed her about to ask questions about it, he spoke up. “Listen, I’m going to go outside, check that they’re dead, get their weapons. You want to stay here?”
    Without answering, she got up and headed to the door, taking a long look out the window first. They covered each other heading out to the bodies, and he was impressed by her knowledge of gun safety as well as by the nonchalance with which she handled the dead bodies. He knew it couldn’t be easy for her. But she was tough. She didn’t back down. And he liked that, more than he probably should.
    * * *
    Creed got out two bottles of water and two snack-bags of potato chips—leftovers from Kaylee’s lunch treats—and set them on the coffee table.
    “Did your mom raise you to always offer something to company?” asked Nina.
    Creed laughed and nodded, though he felt a sharp pang at the mention of his mom. “Apocalypse or not.”
    Nina tore open the little bag of chips and chewed thoughtfully. “OK. So back to the motorcycle. Tell me what it’ll take to get one working, and what I can do to help. I really need this.”
    “What’s your plan?”
    She looked at him sharply. “None of your business.”
    “Yeah? Well, maybe my bikes aren’t any of your business, sweetheart.” He chugged some water, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, then picked up his pistol, idly ejecting the magazine to check how much ammo was left, then clicking it back in, the sound satisfying. Comforting. He set