Cole doesn’t bother to respond, and I peek my head out to look for Michele, but if she’s in the crowd, it’s impossible to tell. Cole drives with a single-minded intensity through the grass, up and over bumps and obstacles, without slowing down until we reach the silo in record time.
With a screech, he slams on the brakes, and my head snaps forward violently. With a whimper, I reach up and grab my neck, glancing around wide-eyed as the distant sounds of the fight continue in the background.
At this point, it can only be zombies our attackers are shooting at.
My heart thuds in my ears and I can hear my rasping breath while we sit in silence. Slowly the gunshots die down, but there’s still no sign of Jase and Michele. In the unnatural quiet, my stomach drops.
Where are they? They should’ve been here by now unless something happened, but Jase is a former marine, so he should’ve made it back. He’s like, invincible.
Cole’s fingers tap tap tap the steering wheel in synchrony with Enzo’s heavy breaths, breaking the ominous silence. Dully, I stare out the windshield, my heart in my fucking throat once again.
“Did you see Sofia?” Enzo asks into the quiet, and we both shake our heads in the negative. He lowers his head in thought, and I wait for him to say he’s going back in to get her, but he doesn’t, which surprises me because I thought they were closer than that. I guess I was wrong.
After about twenty minutes that feels like an eternity, Cole puts the truck in gear and starts driving.
“Wait,” I screech, grabbing the back of the seat.
He glances back at me with sorrow in his eyes and says softly, “No, Lo, we can’t. It’s not safe.”
The fucking look says it all, and I lean back in the seat and cry, closing my eyes against the brutal reality of this cruel as fuck world. Not my best friend, too.
???
We drive for I don’t know how long before Cole eases to a stop and turns the ignition off. Sitting up, I glance around, wiping my face before looking at Cole for direction. But the words die on my tongue when I see the fierce glint in his eyes. Shit. My heart sinks to my toes because I just know I am not going to like what he says next.
“I’m going back to look for them,” he says, talking right over me when I protest. “You’re staying here with Enzo.”
I glance at Enzo and then back to Cole with a frown. What? Enzo?
But when I meet his troubled gaze and see the struggle, I drop my own and nod. He can’t leave his sister behind, but he doesn’t want to leave me either, and it’s this that inspires me to shut my trap.
It would kill me to make him choose, even if it means staying with Enzo or the reality that I may never see him again.
Cole looks to Enzo, who nods at him in a bro code I can’t decipher before Cole hands me the keys to the vehicle. “Do you have your gun?”
I shake my head. I don’t have anything at this point, and unsurprisingly, Cole reaches between the seats and pulls out a revolver.
I take it from his outstretched hand with trembling fingers, closing my eyes when he cups my cheeks and leans his forehead against mine, saying softly, “I’ll be back, but if I’m not, you need to go. Go to Flag and wait there, but don’t wait too long. Find those people and see if you can join them.”
When I open my mouth to respond, beg, fucking say anything, he presses his lips to mine and then walks away before I can even kiss him back. It feels like a fucking omen, and I watch with tears in my eyes, praying to whatever god there is that I don’t have to say goodbye to him too. All of this is too damn much.
I watch until I can’t see him anymore before turning back to Enzo. I don’t trust him, and now I’m alone with the big bastard. He sits quietly in the front seat for a while and I sit behind him, equally silent.
We can’t see anything in the dark, but we’re safer in the vehicle if it comes down to it. I’ve got a gun, and I assume Enzo does, too, if he was on guard duty. It’s not enough to take out a horde and may cause more trouble than harm against our unknown enemy, which is why sitting tight and leaving the truck off is probably the best bet.
I’m gazing off into the darkness blankly, begging in my head, when Enzo breaks the silence by saying, “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” I ask absently. Is Cole even now with Michele and Jase? Are they safe?
“For Michele and Jase. I hope they’re all right.”
“Yeah,” I murmur, not too interested in conversation, especially not with him.
The time passes achingly slowly and after what must be an hour or two, Enzo stirs again. I’ve been circling my finger around my necklace obsessively, my signature move when something is wrong. The necklace is a parting gift from my booze-addled mother and a reminder of my past and the lessons I should never forget. Cole would immediately recognize that something is wrong if he saw me do it, except he’s not here. He left, and he hasn’t come back.
I see Enzo’s face turn to me in the dark, and although I can’t make out his expression, I know what’s coming. “We should go,” he murmurs.
Staring at him stonily, I say, “We’re not going yet. He could be back any minute.”