Read Online Midnight Outbreak by Brandy Jeffus Corona - Free Book Online Page B

said. He was in charge of keeping up with the different groups among the southern sector. “I didn’t hear of anyone that we know that was doing that shit.”
    “Poor girl,” Sienna said.
    “Yes, indeed.” Lexi uncrossed her legs, then crossed them again. 
    They were quiet, watching through the half-open blinds at the adults inside. They were talking, and the taller one, Will, had a beer in his hand.
    “He hates us,” Miguel whispered.
    “’Cause he’s been bred to.”
    “They’re going to agree. I know they are. They’re desperate. They were in a bad spot tonight. Could’ve died with all those dead heads,” Miguel said, using the name Mari had used.
    “I surely hope so. ‘Cause we’re all a little desperate, aren’t we?”
    “That we are, mami , that we are,” Miguel whispered as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

Chapter Twelve

    Will did not like the way Brendan and Josh were leaning when it came to trusting the vampires. “I don’t give a damn if the vamps die. I don’t. Why should we? They freaking turned both of your wives and now y’all want to go in cahoots with them? Yeah that makes perfect sense, let me tell you.”
    Josh rolled his eyes. “One thing about you, man, is that you hold onto your anger and let it fester. Everything around us is going to hell and both of us,” his finger waved between himself and Will, “would’ve been dead tonight if it weren’t for those vamps. Dammit Will, if you’d listen to yourself, you’d realize that you’re just going by emotions. Not logic.”
    “Uncle Will?” Mari spoke up. She had stopped watching the cartoons and was focused on the men. She had started calling both Will and Josh uncle after the first month.
    “Yes, Mari?”
    “If they were going to hurt us, they would’ve already. Don’t you think?”
    Will’s face fell with the girl’s logic. Sometimes kids weren’t as clueless as adults thought they were. “Yeah, I guess so.”
    “Well, I think so. They didn’t act like my mommy. They didn’t act like they wanted to eat us. I think they would help us and not hurt us.”
    Will sighed, and Brendan smiled at his daughter. Already, she was growing up too fast. This world was not something he wanted her to live in, but he couldn’t change that.
    For a few minutes nobody said anything. Then Will hissed, “Well, hell, I guess invite them in. But they won’t feed off me. You two numb nuts can take care of ‘em.” 
    ***
    Lexi, Miguel, Lukas and Sienna sat around in the living room squeezed together on the couch.
    “We live in Alexandria. Our apartment is still safe, mainly because of the improvements we made to the windows and such, but the city is in ruins. We’ve been traveling around Louisiana, in contact with our other vampire friends to see what they are doing. We have some people in the DC area that we’ve been in contact with and all major politicians have disappeared, off grid somewhere safe, but the military is still in place.
    “The zombies or dead heads—I like that term better,” Lexi smiled at Mari, who was sitting in her lap, “have taken over every major southern city so far, from Texas to Florida.
    “What about up North or West?”
    Sienna shook her head, “We don’t know. It’s not as bad over that way. Because Alexandria is where it started, it’s concentrated in the south. But the DC folks didn’t want to take any chances, ya know?”
    Brendan puttered, “Isn’t that how it always is?”
    Lukas smiled and nodded. “As long as I’ve been around, it has.” He chuckled softly.
    They spent the next couple of hours just talking. The vampires shared abbreviated histories of their lives while the men talked a little about themselves. Even Will, with his face screwed up in frustration, shared. Lukas and Miguel were interested in his history of vampire killing and politely listened as he told a brief history of getting involved because of his father.
    Mari was in seventh heaven. The presence of two