Through the Zombie Glass - Gena Showalter, Gena Showalter (the unexpected everything TXT) 📗

disease most of her too-short life. Katwas militant about keeping her declining health froFrosty and the boys, and so far she’d succeeded.She lived for the moment. She never held back—iwords or in action. She had no desire to fade from theworld, but wanted to make an impact, a difference, and goout swinging. I could help her with that.“How would you feel about learning to defend yourselagainst the you-knows?” I asked. My dad had trained meto fight them before I’d possessed the ability to see them,and that training had been invaluable when my                circumstances changed. Maybe Kat would see the zombiesone day. Maybe she wouldn’t. Either way, I could equipher to make smarter choices.“I’d feel...great. I think.”“That’s good enough for me. Cole has a gym, and it’sloaded with all the equipment we’ll need. I can show yohow to shoot a gun and use a bow and arrow.”She waved a hand through the air, probably trying for dismissive, but I saw the gleam of fear behind the action.“No need for that part of the training.”“You’ve used both weapons before?”“No, but the unaimed weapon never misses. I’d rather stick with that method.”I rolled my eyes.“Will Frosty be there?” She nibbled on her bottom lipas she waited for my answer.“Maybe.”I couldn’t tell whether that pleased her or upset her; thechewing never stopped. “Well, today’s, like, the biggestholiday of the year, so I’ll pencil you in for noon sharptomorrow. Or maybe sometime next week would be best.Yes. Definitely next week.”“Nope. You’ll pencil me in for now and tomorrowand next week. I’m not letting you put this off. We’re going toturn you into a rabid, frothing-at-the-mouth fightingmachine. You’ll be so hard-core, you’ll be able to knock Frosty on his butt as easily as breathing.”                A scary kind of anticipation lit her features. “Okay, I’min. But only because I know I’ll look good with biceps.True story.” She drained what remained of her coffee andslammed the mug onto the table. “Let’s go before I changemy mind.”I left my grandmother a note, telling her not to expect me back until after lunch and that I loved her. I thought abouttexting Cole, but quickly discarded the idea. I’d surprisehim.“You want to drive?” Kat asked as I made a beeline for the passenger side of her Mustang. “You have a permit.”Acid burned a path up my throat. “No thanks. You’renot old enough to be my escort or whatever.”“But you need the practice.”“Another day,” I hedged.“That’s what I said about training, and you shot medown.”“Do you want to reach the gym in fifteen minutes or fifteen hours?” I asked. If I had to pick between drivingand bathing in manure, I’d pick the manure. Every time.“You know how slow I go.”“True.” She settled behind the wheel.“Did Frosty ever take you to Cole’s gym? Not the one ihis garage, but the gym several miles from his house?” Theseat belt rubbed against my wound, and I shifteduncomfortably.“Nope. According to Frosty, the high and mighty                workout station for stallions—his words, not mine—isoff-limits to nonslayers.” Not any longer. I gave her the address without a qualm.The boys had brought Kat into this treacherous world osecrets, and they could deal with the consequences.As we soared down the highway, I checked the sky for the rabbit-shaped cloud Emma used to warn me aboutcoming zombie attacks. Today, there wasn’t one, and I breathed a sigh of relief.Kat swerved to avoid hitting another car, and I yelped.“Is my driving making you nervous?” she asked. “Imean, you’re supertense. Which is silly, considering thefact that I’ve only been in, like, three wrecks since yowere confined to a bed, and, when you think about it, noneof them were my fault. I mean, sure, I was in the wronglane, texting, but the other drivers had plenty of time tomove out of my way.”How was she still alive? “Mad Dog, you are the bestworst driver I know.”She preened. “That might be the sweetest complimentanyone’s ever given me. Thank you.”A car honked as she swerved across four lanes to exitthe highway, and she seemed utterly oblivious. “So, youand Cole are at the stage where he’s comfortable enoughto call your Nana, huh?”“I know. It’s kind of weird, right, and...” Wait. I knewCole. He’d always been a guy with a plan. A purpose. He                never did anything without a rock-solid reason. But whatreason could he possibly have had to— The answer slammed into me, and I nearly liquefied imy seat. I’d lost my family, and this was my firstHalloween without them. He was trying to reduce thenumber of memories I’d have to battle.He didn’t know that I’d never before celebratedHalloween. My dad hadn’t allowed us to leave the houseat night, so there had been no reason to buy a costume, andopening the door to strangers to pass out candy had beeust as big a no-no.“Yeah,” I said to Kat, wishing I could crawl into Cole’sarms and never leave. “We are.”“You’re so lucky. My dad has never been a Frosty fan.I’m pretty sure he’s only ever threatened to castrate the boy.”Had to be those serial-killer eyes. Sometimes, wheFrosty looked at you, you just expected to die horribly.“Your dad still lets you guys date, though.”“Yeah, and he always will. When I was first diagnosedwith defunct kidneys, he promised to let me make my owdecisions and live my life the way I wanted.”Good man.“So, what have you decided to do tonight?”“The same thing you are. And I didn’t mention it beforenow because I didn’t want you drowning in jealousyknowing I was out having the best time ever while yowere still languishing in your sickbed.” She gripped the                steering wheel so tightly her knuckles bleached of color.“I’m trying not to be nervous. I mean, I know all theslayers will be there, but the night will be filled with allkinds of creepers, so how will I know who’s dangerousand who’s not?”“You aren’t able to see real zombies,” I reminded her.“That doesn’t mean they aren’t there. First, I told Frostyno, but then he said, ‘Would I ever put you at risk,woman?’ And I said, ‘How would I know? You’ve beenliving a double life since we started dating.’ And he said,‘You want me to apologize again, don’t you?’ And I said,‘Every day for the rest of your life.’ He had the nerve tolaugh as if I was joking.”I smothered a laugh of my own. “So...what’s your costume?”“A too-sexy-to-handle Little Red Riding Hood.”“Let me guess. Frosty’s going as the Big Bad Wolf.”“What else? I have a feeling he thinks it’ll be hilariousto snap his teeth at me and say, ‘I’m going to eat you up,my dear.’”Picturing it, I shook my head. “You’re going to tell himto prove it. Aren’t you?”“I like that you know me so well.”She turned onto a winding gravel road nestled betweerows of trees in the process of shedding their fall coats.When the trees finally gave way to fields of wheat, Cole’s“workout station for stallions” became visible—a big red                 barn that looked ready to topple over. Actually, the thingcould withstand a military invasion.“This place is in the middle of nowhere,” Kat remarkedas she eased to a stop.“For many reasons.” Slayers coming at all hours of theday and night. The sheer number of weapons kept here.The condition we sometimes left in.There were more cars than usual in the driveway. Ifrowned as I stepped into the coolness of the day. Grunts,groans and even cheers seeped from the crack in the door.“Come on.” I quickened my pace.I stopped just inside the entrance and could only gape.I’d assumed Cole, and maybe the überdedicated Frostyand Bronx would be the only guys willing to forgo acountrywide day off.Kat bumped into me and froze. “Oh, spank me,” shewhispered, her tone reverent.Here they were, all of the slayers in all their glory.There was enough testosterone in the air to jump-start thedeadest of hearts. Most of the boys were shirtless,displaying bronzed muscles honed from more than justweights—honed from hacking at the enemy. I saw wickedscars, sexy tattoos and piercings, and even a few house-arrest anklets.The blond and scarily beautiful Frosty pounded his fistsinto a poor, defenseless punching bag. The rough-and-tumble Bronx held the thing in place, his feet planted                firmly on the floor. There was no force on earth that couldmove him, even one as violent as Frosty. Collins ran on atreadmill, and Cruz lifted weights.And Cole, well, he was in the boxing ring with a girl Ididn’t recognize.There was an unfamiliar boy standing at the side,watching the pair. The only other females in the roomwere Mackenzie—Cole’s very feral ex—and Trina, a girlKat had yet to forgive for not having a summer fling witFrosty.Don’t ask.Trina waved at me, and I waved back, but my attentionquickly returned to Cole. He swung lightheartedly at theunknown girl, and she ducked before straightening andswinging at him. He ducked, too, and when she swungagain, he caught her fist and jerked her against the hardline of his body, effectively disabling her.She grinned up at him, all cocky assurance and femininewiles—and she stayed right where she was, clearly happyto be there. A boy with a girlfriend should have releasedher and stepped back. Although Cole stiffened, the gleamin his eyes turning granite-hard, he remained just as hewas, returning her grin with one of his own.I wasn’t sure what any of that meant. I only knew Ididn’t like it.Time for Pep Talk Ali. He’s trained other girls. He’seven smiled at other girls. This isn’t romantic. This isn’t                  sexual.Of course, Downer Ali wasn’t fully convinced (yes,there are many sides to me). He didn’t pick you upbecause he didn’t want to leave this girl’s side.I shook my head. He was mine, my toy, and I wouldn’tshare.But what if he wanted me to share him? No! Stupid insecurity.Cole wasn’t like that.“Kitten,” Frosty called, sounding more than a littlesurprised. “How’d you find me?”Kat lifted her chin, the picture of female pique. “Don’tflatter yourself. I’m not here for you. But just so you know,I used my phenomenal detective skills, coupled with Ali’smediocre directions. No offense,” she said to me.“None taken.” Mediocre was actually better than Ideserved.“Don’t be that way, baby,” he replied, unwinding thetape from his fists. “You know I would have given you aride on the Frosty Express. You just had to ask.”Bronx rolled his eyes. Several of the other guysgroaned.Cole’s attention arrowed in my direction. Our gazeslocked, and guilt filled those violet irises.Guilt? Why guilt? Whatever the answer, it couldn’t begood. I will not stomp into that ring. I will not pull the pair apart.                 I will not beat them both into pulp.He set the girl away from him. Once again I foundmyself waiting and hoping for a vision. I was back on myfeet. Things should go back to normal. But a moment passed, then another. Normal remained at bay.A dash of dread joined a pinch of jealousy, a recipe for trouble.The new guy whistled under his breath, and my attentioshifted to him. Our gazes collided. A second later, theworld washed away, just as I’d wanted it to do with Cole —  —we were in my bedroom, standing beside my bed.o, we were lying on my bed. I’d just pushed him down. Itilted his head with one hand and pulled at his clothes witthe other. Then I licked my way down his throat. I wasmaking strange little growling noises, as if I’d never enjoyed a taste so much and had to have more— “—Ali!” Cole shouted.I blinked, and the vision evaporated.Cole appeared, his features tense. “What justhappened?”“Dude,” Frosty said to the new guy. “Your brain justchecked out for a bit. I haven’t seen anything like thatsince Cole first met Al—and uh, yeah, never mind.” New Guy stared at me, looking suspicious and angry.I stumbled back a few steps. I couldn’t believe I’d just                mind-cheated on Cole. Like, big-time.“Cole asked a good question,” New Guy croaked.“What just happened?”So he’d had the vision, too. No. No, no, no.What didthat mean? That strong of a connection had never happenedwith anyone but Cole. Why here? Why now? Whythisguy?“I have a better question,” the new girl said with asweet Southern drawl. “Will someone please introduceme to the newcomers?”I had to make sure the vision never came true. Itcouldn’t come true. It