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JENNA
“Reed! What are you doing?”
“I know those guys.” He hurries into the open. He waves his arms, catching the attention of the two guys.
Shit. I exchange a look with Carter, who looks as worried as I feel. This time, when Carter takes my hand, I know it’s on purpose. He squeezes my fingers, glancing into my eyes as we hurry after Reed.
“Carlos. Jesus.” Reed grins at the men. “Am I glad to see—”
The smaller of the two men raises a gun and shoves the barrel up against Reed’s nose.
Carter pushes me behind him, herding us both back. I freeze as the taller man pulls a gun and aims it at us.
“Stop right there,” he drawls.
“What the fuck, Carlos?” Reed says, pushing the gun barrel out of his face. “Why are you being an asshole?”
“Inside.” Carlos gestures with the gun at a gem and mineral shop. “We need a word with you, Reed.”
“Can you put the guns away?” Reed demands. He points to Carter and me. “These are my friends. You’re scaring them.”
“Get your asses inside,” Carlos barks.
The bigger guy, Jesus, gestures to us with the gun. “He said, get your asses inside.”
Reed grumbles, but waves for us to go into the store. How does he know these guys? What sort of shit has he gotten us into this time? I make a mental note never to let Reed leave Creekside again. Ever. I’m sick of having firearms pointed at us.
Carter keeps one hand in mine, pulling me close to him as we enter the shop. I don’t pull away.
“Over there.” Carlos points to a spot on the floor between a rack of crystal necklaces and a giant purple geode.
“Dude, can you put the guns away?” Reed asks, following their orders and taking a seat on the floor.
Both men wait until Carter and I take seats beside Reed. I scan the shelves, making note of which rocks would make decent weapons. There are more than a few fist-sized ones that could be used against these men.
“Seriously,” Reed says. “Why are you guys being like this?” He tries to make his tone casual, but I don’t miss the quaver of fear.
Carlos and Jesus just stare, guns still leveled at us. Seconds tick by. It takes all my willpower not to squirm.
A slow grin spreads over Carlos’s face. His shoulders shake with mirth. A long moment passes before I realize he’s laughing at us.
“We’re just fucking with you, bro,” Carlos says.
Jesus lets out a loud guffaw. “You should see your face!”
“You fuckers!” Reed leaps to his feet, slugging both men in the arms with strikes that are half affectionate, half angry.
The two older men round on Reed and slug him back. They’re all grinning by this time and, thank God, the guns have been put away. The flurry of slugging turns into a group hug with lots of backslapping.
“We just wanted to fuck with you,” Carlos says.
“You know I’m loyal to Granjero. Have you guys been in Arcata the whole time?” Reed asks.
“We were up here making a drop when the shit hit the fan,” Carlos replies. “We tried to get out but our car was mobbed. We lost Timmo and Rick. Me and Jesus barely got away.” The dark-haired man shakes his head. “That’s how it is for Mr. Rosario’s men, too. We’re all stuck here.”
It all clicks together in my brain. These guys are from a rival drug faction. They’re stranded here, along with Mr. Rosario’s guys.
“Was that you guys that set off the music?” Jesus asks.
Reed nods. “We’re on a supply run. We needed to draw the zombies away from the plaza.”
I’m grateful he doesn’t mention Kate or Johnny or Trading Post.
“Was that you guys who set off the zoms a few streets over, too? Where the dog was?”
Reed hesitates, then nods. “Yeah.”
“You guys are waking up the whole fucking town,” Carlos says. “That dog belonged to one of Mr. Rosario’s crew.”
Jesus chuckles. “We should probably thank you for that. We were scoping out their hidey-hole from across the street. Three of them didn’t make it out. The fucking dog neither. The survivors are mad as hell over the dog. You better watch yourself if you go back out there.” He jerks a thumb to indicate the plaza.
“We didn’t know,” Reed says. “Like I said, we’re on a supply run. We got mobbed.”
“We can’t let Rosario’s bastards roam free. They’ll take over our territory if we let them. We—” Carlos is interrupted by the sound of a gunshot.
It came from the plaza. I look past the shelves of rocks in the window, trying to see into the street and the park beyond.
“Go check it out,” Carlos orders.
Jesus, mouth tight, nods and slips out the door.