A Little More Dead Read Online Free Page B

odds in their favor. Every
step, or misstep, counted.
    When Paul entered the living room, Carla
sat up straighter and swiped at her wet cheeks. “Thank you again for saving our
lives. All of you.” She placed a hand over her heart. “If you wouldn’t have
stopped, I don’t know what…”
    “We’re just glad everyone is okay,” Dan
said, dropping into a pea green armchair.
    Carla’s glassy eyes bounced to Paul. “So,
we’re going to the ocean, huh?”
    He sat on the arm of Sophia’s recliner,
wondering if Carla invited herself along for the ride or if Sophia extended the
offer while he and Dan were outside disposing of the dead kid’s body. Not that it
mattered; they would never leave them here on their own, but it bugged him just
the same. “I figure we’ll keep heading south on I-35, avoid the big cities along
the way and put our backs to the ocean where we can figure out our next move
without freezing our butts off.”
    “I cannot wait.” Dan folded his arms
across his chest. “I can’t feel my toes anymore and I’m not even kidding.”
    Mike turned to Carla. “Hey mom, are
there going to be man-eating sharks in the ocean?”
    “What? No, sweetie, there are not going
to be man-eating sharks in the ocean.”
    “I don’t wanna get eaten by a shark!” Matt cried, turning on the waterworks again.
    Paul rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm
around Sophia, pulling her against him. She still had that shell-shocked look
on her face and that was okay. It would pass. He hoped.
    “You are not going to get eaten by a shark,
Peanut! What is wrong with you?”
    “Guys, I think all the sharks have moved
on to other spots.”
    Both boys blinked blankly at Dan.
    “Because of all the
oil?” Mike finally asked.
    “Oil?”
    “Yeah, in the
Gulf.”
    He nodded. “That’s exactly right. Sharks
hate oil.”
    “Why?” Matt asked.
    “Well,” Dan said, clearing his throat,
“because it gets in their gills and they can’t breathe.”
    “I thought they cleaned the oil up.”
    Matt shook his head. “I hope they didn’t
because then the sharks will come back.”
    Paul cast a sideways look at Dan and
exhaled a spent breath. “Okay, any other indispensable questions?”
    “Just one,” Carla said, raising a hand.
“Is this beach going to have a tiki bar?” she asked,
cranking up her cackle-box again.
    Paul tried to smile back, but she made
him nervous. If she learned to relax during the heat of the moment, she might
be able to handle a small gun without killing any of them but her mouth and
alcohol seemed like a dangerous combination. He shifted his weight on the arm
of the chair. “What did you do before any of this happened anyway? For work?”
    Carla’s lips bent downward. “Me? I was a
realtor for Morton Realty. Why?”
    His hope sank. “Just
wondering.”
    Paul couldn’t stitch a hole in a shirt
let alone a bad wound and Dan’s experience as manager of the Apple store in the
mall was zero help in this powerless world as well. With the hospitals turning
into walking cemeteries, they would need to befriend a doctor or nurse and soon.
They had to set themselves up. “Alright, here’s the deal, you’re going to have
to carry your weight around here, and that means keeping your head during the
tough times.” He looked to Matt and Mike. “And believe me, we’re going to hit some rough patches. I’m not even going to lie.”
    The three signaled their agreement with
rapid head nods.
    Paul’s chocolate-colored gaze jerked
back to Carla. “You’re also going to have to learn how to shoot a gun.”
    Her face brightened. “My ex was an avid
hunter; I know my way around a gun.”
    “So do I !” Mike
added.
    Paul arched an eyebrow at him. “You do?”
    “I’ve shot my dad’s guns at the range a
ton of times,” Mike proudly stated, puffing his chest out. “Plus, I play Big Buck Hunter .”
    Sophia laughed and it was music to
Paul’s ears.
    “I shot a real deer one time!” Matt
piped in.
    Mike