DEAD: Reborn Read Online Free PDF Page B

felt calm and peaceful. It did nothing to ease the turmoil swirling inside Juan. He would be leaving tomorrow and expected to return with the three people that were supposedly still back at Donna’s house.
    A snuffling noise brought him back to the moment. A large dark shape was padding over to him. Juan reached down and ran his hands through the thick, soft fur.
    “Hey, Tigah,” he whispered.
    A wet tongue slopped his hand in response. The Newfoundland puppy forced his head onto Juan’s lap and rested it there. Juan scratched the dog behind the ears and smiled despite all the stress and strain that was roiling within him as the dull thud of a foot tapping the floor started slow and then picked up its tempo.
    “Found the right spot, huh?” Juan whispered.
    “What are you doing out of bed?” Mackenzie’s voice made Juan jump.
    Tigah pushed away and waddled over to the doorway where Mackenzie stood. The silver light of the moon hit her face perfectly. To Juan, she was an angel. That was part of the problem. She was wonderful…and he was a street thug and petty criminal with a history that she knew very little about. She hadn’t asked any questions, and he had not offered any information.
    For the longest time, he had believed that perhaps the end of civilization was his chance to remake himself into the man he ’d always wished he could be. Recent events told him very clearly that he could not.
    “Well?” Mackenzie prompted after Juan ’s silence had stretched on for too long. “You should be getting your rest. You have another trip to make and you need to be alert.”
    “I couldn ’t sleep,” Juan admitted. She didn’t need to know why.
    “I am sure that they are fine. ” Mackenzie came and placed a hand on Juan’s shoulder. Tigah followed and put his head back in Juan’s lap. “April seems pretty smart. She won’t do anything foolish or risky until you arrive.”
    Juan felt his insides twist. You have no idea , he thought. Once he was certain that he had control of his voice, he spoke. “Just so many things that can go wrong out there. All it takes is one screw up.”
    “And yet you keep returning.” Mackenzie knelt in front of Juan and took both his hands in hers. “You need to listen to your own words. We have plenty now. Also, there are other people who can make these trips.”
    “After this one,” Juan insisted, suddenly nervous that she might put her foot down. “I know exactly where everything is. This is not a search operation, just a pick up and come home.”
    Mackenzie seemed satisfied with that response, if not a little relieved. The moonlight was proving to be a blessing and a curse. The blessing was that he could clearly see her face; the curse was that he could see her swallowing his lie. For perhaps the first time in his life, his conscience was wreaking havoc on his soul.
    “You go in, grab them, and then come home?” Mackenzie’s voice had that tone that was seeking reassurance.
    “That ’s it,” Juan said with a nod and a squeeze of her hands.
    Of course, that was a lie. He knew it. But he had to play this scene through…like it or not.
     
    ***
     
    Moab, Utah— “Climb, Cynthia!” Glenn screamed. He could do nothing but watch in horror as his wife started up the rope.
    “Dammit, Glenn,” a female voice hissed in his ear, “I told you not to scream…you’re just bringing more of them!”
    Glenn dismissed that voice—if he even heard it—as his sole focus was the woman at the base of the tree who was just now kicking the closest zombie in the face before continuing her ascent. The voice belonged to his sister-in-law, Melissa “Mel” Bird.
    Glenn’s wife Cynthia was the sister of Mel’s husband, Kyle Bird. They had been on vacation in Chicago when the first reports of the “strange virus” began to spread. It had been his wife Cynthia who had made the joke about zombies.
    “Like one of mom’s weird books,” she had said as they sat huddled in front of