Read Online - - End of All Things, The by Lissa Bryan - Free Book Online Page B

don’t know me very well yet, but you’ll find I’m a person who keeps my promises. And I promise you I will do my best to keep you safe, warm, and fed. I’m your best shot at survival.” He tugged up the sleeve of his T-shirt and showed her the symbol tattooed there, the same symbol that was on her father’s ring. “This once meant something. It meant enough that I had it permanently etched into my skin because it’s a part of me. It wasn’t just a military unit. It was a code of honor. I may be the last man standing, but I swear to Christ I’m not going to let that code die, too.”
    And gazing into his eyes, Carly believed him. She might have very little experience of the world, but she knew sincerity when she saw it. He truly cared about what happened to her, for whatever reason. Her doubts and fears warred with her instincts, which told her Justin was what he presented himself to be. He was a nice guy with a mischievous sense of humor and a strong sense of honor and duty. Her father had told her to trust no one, but he had also told her about the symbol and what it meant to the men who wore it.
    “I’m scared,” Carly said. She felt her cheeks warm in embarrassment at the admission, but she felt like he deserved her honesty.
    “I am, too. None of this is going to be easy, but I’d put our chances at reaching Florida higher than most.”
    “That doesn’t sound too encouraging.”
    Justin was quiet for a long moment. “Do you want me to be honest or comforting?”
    Carly blinked when tears stung her eyes again. He already thought she was stupid. She didn’t want to add whiny to the list. “Just for a little while, can you be optimistic?”
    He took her hand in his own. “Sure, honey. I understand.”

    The first thing Justin wanted to do was find a wagon and a pair of bicycles. Carly directed him to the bicycle shop, which was not far from the bridge, and he returned on a bike, towing a trailer with another bike stowed inside. The wagon was the size of a queen-size bed, with a metal mesh floor and waist-high sides of tubular metal rails. It was surprisingly light when she tried to lift it.
    He’d also brought them helmets. Both of them were blue, and she wondered if he’d intentionally selected a matching set or if there weren’t many options.
    “We don’t know the road conditions we’ll encounter. We could go around a curve and . . . well, I don’t want to risk a head injury.”
    Carly tried hers on and found it was a perfect fit. She turned and saw Justin grinning at her.
    “What?”
    “I’ve never seen anyone who actually looked cute in one of those before.”
    Cute . He thought she was cute. Carly blushed and pulled the helmet off.
    She helped him load the wagon, and Justin surprised her with how organized he was about it. He stacked the supplies they weren’t going to use right away—such as the antibiotics and the ammo that didn’t fit their guns—on the bottom.
    The night before, Justin sat at the kitchen counter and had taken apart some of the guns. He used a small, metal file on some part inside the scary-looking black rifles. Carly had watched with interest. “What are you doing?”
    “Turning them from semi-auto to full auto.” Justin handed the reassembled rifle to Carly, who turned to carry it into the spare room.
    “Something else you picked up at Gymboree?”
    “Yep. You know, you look kinda hot carrying that.”
    Carly blushed and kept her face turned away from him as she headed for the spare room. Was he teasing her, or was he actually flirting with her? Carly didn’t know. She wished men came with an instruction manual. 
    That morning, Justin had told her she needed to decide what she was taking, but he cautioned her to remember they didn’t have much space, and weight was an important consideration. “I know you’d rather leave your things here than have to abandon them alongside the trail.”
    Carly had ended up taking the string of pearls her father had