Read Online Zombie Rage (Walking Plague Trilogy #2) by J. R. Rain, Elizabeth Basque - Free Book Online

Please!”
    “ Yes, come and see your dad,” Joe said, and she rushed down the stairs after him.
    Jared found Anna sitting cross-legged across from her father, embracing him. Jared thought it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever witnessed. Father and daughter reunited. For them, no one else existed. Anna was so happy; she kept wiping her father’s tears away. Jack caressed Anna’s hair like he’d done a million times before, whenever she’d had a skinned knee or a bad dream.
    “I’m so sorry, angel, that you had to go through this,” Jack told his daughter. He couldn’t believe how beautiful she was. He couldn’t believe he’d ever not loved her as any parent loves a child. And he was astounded that she’d come through all of this...this terror, as well as she had.
    “ Don’t be sorry, Daddy,” Anna said. “You’re the one who had to...” She couldn’t finish.
    He hugged her again. “It’s okay, sweetheart,” he soothed. “It’s over. I’m okay. You should thank your Uncle Joe. And Mike. And Carla.” He looked up to Jared, who was standing by himself. “And, I’m thinking, Jared, maybe most of all.”
    Jack looked up at Jared. “Come here, son.”
    Jared sat down next to Anna, across from Jack. “I know how hard this was on Anna.” Jack’s words were warm, sincere. “You’ve been her backbone from day one.” Jack thought about hugging Jared, but reconsidered. He held out his hand, man to man. “Thank you for caring for my daughter when I could not.”
    Jared took his hand, relieved that everything turned out all right, that this whole mess was solved, that Jack was okay, and that Anna was happy. “You’re welcome, Jack.”
    Mike spat out another flush of blood. Mike was satisfied about “mission accomplished,” but he had this damn hole in his cheek to deal with.
    “Did I do that?” Jack asked.
    “ Yeah. You did.”
    “ I’m so sorry, Mike. I didn’t know—”
    “ Never mind,” Mike said. “Now, can we get the hell out of this cellar?”
     
    * * *
     
    At last, all was well in the Carter household.
    Everyone was healthy, safe and sane. Mostly, they were all exhausted. Carla had dressed Mike’s wounded cheek as best she could. Mike could have used a couple of stitches, but he would have none of it. He settled for some Neosporin and a butterfly bandage.
    “You’re gonna have a scar, and I’m sorry about that,” Jack said.
    “ Hell, it will be something to tell the grandkids.” Mike spoke lightly, but wondered grimly whether he would live long enough to have grandchildren.
    They all slept in the Los Feliz house that night. Jared on the floor of Anna’s room—he gave his word to Jack, no funny business—Carla and Jack slept together. They were so tired they fell asleep instantly. Joe and Mike crashed in their respective guest rooms. But before they did, they hashed out a plan to stop the Agent in Black and Stetson.
    If the household in Los Feliz had known what was happening outside of their tight-knit world, they might not have slept so soundly. They had no idea that the homeless people Mike had infected had extremely low immune systems. It wasn’t their fault. But this sad fact would speed up their process of transformation, tenfold. No one would figure that out until much, much later.
    So they slept soundly, for the last time in a long time. And it was a good thing, too. Because if they hadn’t slept, they might not have had the strength to deal with what was coming...
     
     
    Chapter Twenty-one
     
     
    During the whole Jack ordeal, and even before that, Dr. David Stetson had plans of his own.
    He’d come to think of himself as the Master Planner, in fact. He’d devised the idea to bring Cole, the head Agent in Black, back to the base. He’d decided to use Joe Carter to discover what was really going on in the world—a world that hadn’t allowed the media to publicize exactly what was, indeed, going on. They were good plans.
    Stetson and Joe had decided