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without locking on her. “Take only what you can’t live without. Be ready to go in an hour. Earlier if possible. The more time we have to get in front of them, the better. The closest bridge—”
    “I can’t go up there! I can’t go anywhere!” This came from Heather, who sounded hysterical. She pushed past Danny and John. “There are those things up there! Monsters!”
    “It’s leave now or die,” Lira said bluntly. She liked Heather though she’d never allowed herself to get too close to the other woman. “We all have to go, just like Mac says.”
    Anthony looked at her. “Did you know each other . . . before?”
    “No. We met up there.”
    “She saved my life,” Mac said frankly. “Your woman’s a damned good fighter.”
    “She’s not my woman,” Anthony said.
    Rabbi Cohen bustled forward. “Where will we go? How . . . ?”
    “On foot. To the bridge, it’s a half mile.”
    “It’s daylight,” Lira pointed out. “We have a pregnant woman about to go into labor any second. Once we get over the bridge, where do we go? They’re sweeping the city. Won’t they just keep coming?”
    Mac’s gaze went steely. “I don’t know. But I know that once we get out of downtown, we can start heading north. There’s a place I know of. Rumor says there’s a group there, holed up.”
    “What is it?” Anthony, no longer touching her, the distance between them vast, took a step forward.
    “It’s a storage facility. Used to be a mine.” Mac gave Anthony an unwavering look. “Before this all started, a buddy of mine used to brag that if anything went down, he’d taken a share in some survivalist camp. Even if nobody’s there, it’s where we should go.”
    L IRA HAD NOTHING to pack. They had to move fast and light. She was used to that. It would be a relief, anyway, to head out without the weight of a pack on her back. She’d have the weight of responsibility, though.
    The rabbi had been terrific, calming Heather’s fears and getting Candace under control. Danny and John had been their typical steadfast selves. Maybe it was their teenage confidence. Mac had outlined exactly what they were going to do, how long it would take, how they would make it. He and Anthony had worked together, getting things ready to go.
    Everyone got a small bag loaded with a few cans of food and some personal items. The boys carried extra bedding and the medical supplies. They were ready to go. But Anthony hung back watching as Mac herded the others toward the stairs. And Lira hung back, watching Anthony.
    “We need to get out of here. C’mon,” she said.
    Anthony looked at her, gaze steady and assessing. “You believe him?”
    “Yes. I have no reason not to.” Lira studied him. This was not the time for a confrontation if there was going to be one, but she’d have it if he needed it. She supposed she owed him that.
    He nodded sharply, looking after the crowd that had become like a family over the past few months in solitude. “Is he immune?”
    That stopped her. “I . . . don’t know. He’s not sick. I do know that.”
    “He’s a soldier. Maybe they got a vaccine or something.” Anthony paused. “You fought those things with him?”
    “Yes, Anthony.”
    He looked at her then, knowing her so well he didn’t really need to ask. “And after?”
    She took his hand. Squeezed it. Lira linked her fingers with his and brought his hand to her lips. She kissed his knuckles. “Nothing else matters except that I came back here.”
    He smiled and pulled her closer. He pushed her hair out of her eyes and held her face in his hands to stare down at her before brushing her mouth in an embrace too soft to really be called a kiss. He started to speak, but she shook her head.
    “Later,” Lira told him. “Now, we have to go.”
    None of the others had been upstairs and outside in months. They hadn’t seen daylight. They hadn’t seen what the riots had done, or what havoc the Resurrected had wrought. With Mac in the