The Hungry (Book 2): The Wrath of God Read Online Free PDF Page B

helped Miller strap in, handed her a pair of headphones. The noise quieted down a bit. Men mumbled and bursts of dry static crackled in her ears. The big bird thumped and rattled.
    Sheppard was pleased to see Miller sit down across from him. "You going to be okay, Sheriff? You don't even have a coat."
    Miller didn't look up. She adjusted her straps. "I took on an army of zombies wearing nothing but a bloody wedding dress and steel-toed boots. I think I'll be fine in the Nevada sunshine without a fucking coat."
    "Hot," said one of the men. He whistled. Miller couldn't tell which one, or she might have boxed his ears.
    Miller could feel the floor lift beneath her. The huge, rumbling helicopter began to ascend into the warm desert air. The ground fell away and soon the world turned to noise and sunshine and the stench of gun oil and sweat. Miller felt her body tense up. She brushed away her bad dreams and the image of Luther Grabowski as a zombie.
    They rode in silence for a few minutes. Miller concentrated on Hanratty, still trying to take her measure. She stared and waited for the Major to look her in the eye. Finally Rat felt her gaze and responded. Then Miller said, "So what's our plan, Major?"
    Rat didn't miss a beat. "First stop, Nellis field. We have a few more pieces of equipment to pick up."
    "No offense, Major…"
    "Rat."
    "Okay. No offense, Rat , but what the hell is all this equipment for in the first place? Are we going camping?"
    Rat shrugged. "You of all people must know a girl has to have her secrets."
    That earned chuckles from the males in Miller's headset. Miller could feel her face flush. She covered it with one hand. What the hell is wrong with me? This ain't my first do-si-do with an overconfident bitch. Why am I letting Hanratty turn me inside out? She looked over to where her friends contorted their bodies to look out the dusty windows. Miller loved her boys, but they giggled and messed around too much, a passel of Cub Scouts on the way to a softball game.
    Scratch and Terrill Lee sat next to each other. They stared down at the land below, pointing out this casino or that landmark, clearly excited to be going somewhere. Sheppard had struck up a conversation with the team medic, the one called Ripper. Whatever they were talking about must have been scientific, because Sheppard seemed happily engaged. Miller fumed to herself. These idiots should know what they're about to be up against, yet here they are stepping back into the firing line at the first sight of a pair of tits, a pretty face, and a fist full of dollars. Men.
    Fine, Miller thought. So exactly why am I doing this again?
    Before she could answer that thought, one of Hanratty's team turned to her. The one called Lovell. "So, I understand that you and your boys were there at the very beginning."
    "You could say that," Miller said. "Listen, Lovell, I want to…"
    "Kurt," he said. He held out his hand and smiled. He had a very nice smile. A nicer smile than she'd expected.
    "When I'm not being the Sheriff my name is Penny." She shook his hand. Lovell held her hand a bit longer than necessary. She broke contact, wiped her palm on her jeans. "Actually, since we're on a mission, why don't we just keep to 'Sheriff Miller'?"
    "Not a problem. I wasn't going to ask you for your phone number or anything. I was more interested in getting a little serious intel on what the hell we're up against. You know, before the shit hits the proverbial fan."
    "They didn't brief you in detail?"
    Lovell shrugged. "It's always good to hear it from someone who was on the ground."
    She shifted in her seat to face the Marine more fully. "We were there at the beginning, all right. See Sheppard over there?" she asked, nodding across the cargo bay to where the scientist sat chatting with Ripper. "He was…" She stopped short. How much should she say? Sure, Lovell was there to protect them, but did he really have to know that Sheppard had done seminal work on creating the zombie