Read Falling Apart (Barely Alive #2) for Free Online

grim thought that plagued me, involving my zombie child in Heather, eating her from the inside out.
    I thrust myself to a standing position. Half the mountain lion would be a nice gift for James who’d opted to hang out at the house to watch out for the women. A slight twist of my upper body and the lion curled around my shoulders. “I need to head back.”
    She peeled off a large slice of hide and tossed it to the ground by my feet. I scooped it up. Maybe Grandma Jean could do something with it.
    “It’s been a little too real, Connie.” More real than I wanted. Couldn’t anything be left to the imagination? Unicorns? Sex? Zombies? Vampires? Hell.
    The jog back cleared my head. Dodging overhanging branches and hurdling fallen logs smothered in green lichen and moss, I let the cooler breeze work its magic. I arrived at the house, sweat free and only slightly breathing hard. And hella surprised to find a flashy Hummer sitting in the drive.
    Guns – not on me. Or knives for that matter. I didn’t have a single weapon. Oh, stupid. I’m a zombie-ish monster. I was the weapon and a pretty damn good one, too.
    Ditching the large cat on the deck under the swing, I pummeled through the front door. Laughter echoed through the lower level of the house from the direction of the kitchen. Heather’s voice mixed in with others.
    A deep voice said something and more laughter. A guy was there, probably to visit Grandma Jean. Maybe a rich old doctor who was trying to tap that old bird. Sick, but if I was old, I would, too.
    I wiped my stained hands on my pants, smearing the denim with bright red streaks. Yeah, I was presentable alright. Hopefully, the rumors about Idaho were true and nobody thinks twice about a hunter looking like a hunter. I didn’t have to impress him, just not scare him into giving away our position.
    Plush carpet in the hallway to the kitchen ate my footfalls. In the doorway, I paused to take in the scene and find the right time to politely interrupt rather than make a startling appearance. Neither happened when I found myself standing behind Heather and facing a man in his early twenties talking animatedly with  Mom, Grandma Jean, and Heather like he’d known them his entire life. The asshole had blond hair and some kind of deep blue eyes. I’d never seen a jaw-line like his before – unless you counted Clint Eastwood.
    Holy damn, my ego shrank in my pocket. I ducked out of the doorway and into the shadows. I couldn’t focus on the conversation – just Heather’s voice asking something, his reply, and everyone’s answering laugh. The interloper focused the majority of his attention on Heather. And who wouldn’t? She was a beautiful human .
    He was riding the uninfected train, too. Bastard.
    I clenched my fists at my side. Rather than run inside the kitchen and bite his ass to take the jealousy away, I jerked around and escaped outside. I’d rinse off with the hose – if I could handle the chilly water and the less than eighty degree heat. Who considered this summer weather anyway?
    Barreling down the steps, I ran straight into Travis. With a hand on each arm, I steadied him. “Sorry, man. You okay?”
    He fidgeted, his eyes unable to focus on me. I couldn’t make him look at me. There was something wrong with taking the control I’d been given and using it when it wasn’t necessary. I held him for another minute to make sure he wouldn’t drop and then released him. “Dr. Duncan, are you okay? You can talk to me, man.”
    “Have… um, have you seen my wife?” His fingers tapped against his side.
    “She went hunting. Can I help you with something?” If he told me the same crap she’d told me, I would scream. Definitely couldn’t help him with that problem. Not in this lifetime.
    He looked behind him and then peered into the house over my shoulder. He leaned in to me without meeting my eyes. “I figured out the vaccine. It’s all lock and key. I just need Connie to verify the process and