Free Tempted by the Night by Colleen Gleason Page A

passage.
    â€œThey’re out here somewhere,” Juniper said. “They have to be.”
    Marck remained silent, but Luke saw the fury and determination in his stance, and then as he stalked out of the shadows to look around the area. Marisa was tense and silent next to him, having ducked back into the hiding place as soon as their pursuers came into view. She was squeezing his hand again, and Luke swore to himself. It was only a matter of moments before they were discovered.
    What the hell was I thinking, bringing her out here?
    All Ian Marck had to do was take another three more steps in their direction and boom ! It was all over. Luke would be recognized and discovered, and Marisa with him—but wait.
    â€œYou’re my prisoner,” he breathed softly into her ear, praying the zombie groans—growing ever closer—would mask any hint of the low sound from Ian Marck’s sharp ears. “If they catch us, you’re here against your will. You’re my hostage.”
    She tensed as if to argue, then her muscles relaxed and she gave a nod. All right then, at least she wouldn’t be accused along with him.
    They crouched as low and close to the ground as possible, tucking against the rear wheel of the car as Marck and Juniper scanned the area. Neither of them were looking toward Luke and Marisa’s hiding place, and he began to hope they might have the chance to duck to a different shadow, further away…
    â€œ Ruuuthhhhh…rrrrruuuuttthhhhh… ”
    â€œZombies are getting close,” Juniper said. “They can smell us.” He sounded worried. Luke liked that. Maybe the pussy would go back inside and they’d only have Ian to deal with. Maybe they’d both go back inside…although that was unlikely. Marck had his own unique way of dealing with the zombies.
    â€œOr maybe they smell someone else. There’s someone else here that’s been drawing them,” Marck snapped, spinning back toward Luke and Marisa’s car. “Desmond’s in River Vale, or outside it, somewhere out here.”
    The next thing Luke knew, Marck was stalking toward them, and he gripped Marisa tightly, waiting for the inevitable moment of discovery…wishing he had a weapon. Something.
    One step…two steps…Marck’s shadow fell over the car and he was close enough Luke could feel the air stirring. Marisa wasn’t breathing; she was still as stone.
    â€œYo! Marck. Even an asshat like you can’t be that ass-crap clueless.”
    A new voice—that of a female—drew the attention of everyone in the area.
    Marck spun on his heel, the stony ground gritty under his foot. “What the—”
    A figure—long and lean and definitely feminine—dropped from the oak tree and landed light as a cat on her two feet. She was holding a bow, and the arrows bounced in a quiver on her back. “You’re getting soft, Ian.”
    â€œZoë Kapoor,” he replied in cool tones. “Well look what the damned zombies dragged in.”
    â€œHardly,” said the woman as she stepped from the shadows into the light. “One more freaking step and you’re dead, arsewipe,” she added, looking lazily at Juniper—who’d made the mistake of appearing ready to jump her. Now she had a nasty-looking arrow with a large point in her hand, and deliberately nocked it into place. Luke knew full well how capable she was of using the lethal spears to scramble the brains of any creature that might attack.
    Because, against all odds and logic, here now stood the very same bad-tempered woman who’d saved Luke from a zombie attack two years ago. And complained about it the whole time.
    Well…at least now he knew her name.
    â€œWhat the hell are you doing here?” Ian said.
    But before Zoë could reply, the rrruuuthhhhh of the zombies was suddenly very close—horribly, startlingly close, and all at once, one of them