The Boogeybitch, I thought with a grim smile as I dropped my hand onto the bat and focused on the road ahead of us again.
Neither of us fearedmenof any kind. Not even the ones that abused us so horrifically at the whims of a bitch that waned money above all us.
Tieran lets out a sigh as he pulls the cart to a stop and I glance up at him curiously. He nods toward the street sign a few feet away and I prop myself up on my knees to get a better look.
The sign hangs by a nail, swaying in the diseased wind, taunting and beckoning us all at the same time.
With a nod, I sit back down, only this time, I turn around and face my brother, wrapping my arms protectively around him, holding him close as he pushes the shopping cart again.
Slowly; almost as if he’s still trying to decide if we’re strong enough to face our tormentor and walk away unscathed.
“We can do it,” I promise him as I raise a hand to either side of his face. “I’ll be with you the whole way. I promise.”
Tieran looks down into my eyes for a second, before he nods, pushing us along a little faster.
Nothing like going home to make everything better again.
CHAPTER17
TIERAN
It looks almost exactly the same.
It astounds me that of all of the houses on this block, of all of the decimation that has been wreaked on Earth, the proverbial portal to Hell is still standing.
I pull the cart to a stop a few broken-down buildings away and tap Hens on the shoulder, but she doesn’t look up at me because she sees it, too.
I can see her body shake but I don’t know if it’s from the same fear I’m suddenly feeling or something else entirely.
Hensley has never been easy to read.
She pushes herself up to her knees and cranes her neck to see the house, so I do the dutiful thing to protect her from herself.
I look both ways before I push the cart across the street and settle us both in front of a crumbling stone foundation while we wait.
Though I don’t know what’s haunting us right now besides the obvious, I’m willing to wait it out for her sake.
As soon as she makes a move to climb out of the cart, I gently push her back down. Hensley, while hard to read in some ways, is easier to read when it comes to her physical reactions.
They’re almost always so goddamn knee-jerk that I can see them coming from a mile away.
Ten or twenty minutes pass by before the front door of Gloria’s home opens. I shake my head and chuckle when I see a man walk out, zipping up his pants, and then wiping his brow with what I assume is a handkerchief.
A low growl escapes from Hens so I reach forward and rest a calming hand on her shoulder.
“Steady, killer. Not yet,” I tease her quietly as I give her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
She grunts as she settles lower down, still on her knees, still thirsty for blood and vengeance.
For everything that we’re owed but still somewhat hesitant to take.
At least I know that I am.
Hens jerks her head to the left and I follow her gaze, then shake my head. Two men this time, each looking ready for whatever the fuck she has in store for them wander up the street, speaking animatedly to each other.
“Gee, I wonder where they’re going,” I muse aloud, my tone dripping with sarcasm.
Hens glances up at me with fire in her eyes. The same kind that fell from the skies, crashed into the oceans, and turned them into ash so fucking long ago.