Apokalypsis | Book 6 | Apokalypsis 6 Morris, Kate (cheapest way to read ebooks TXT) 📖

“You guys did well tonight,” Tristan praised and nodded to Abraham, who opened the gate, closed it again, and jumped in the bed for a ride down to the house. “Everyone just needs to get some rest now. We’ll go back out in the morning sometime and do some recon for supplies.”

“Sounds good to me,” Elijah said.

“Everyone should just crash at our place. I’m sure the others already are. Avery’s house is huge. There’s bedrooms in the basement, too.”

“Hey, I’m not picky. I’ll couch it,” Elijah joked.

“I have some ideas we’ll go over tomorrow once everyone’s had some rest,” Tristan told them as he turned off the truck near the house.

Avery greeted them with Elijah’s brother, Alex, in the entryway, and he took their wet coats. Abraham then also stepped up and took everything from Alex and disappeared down the hall with it all.

Tristan introduced Bianca, who looked exhausted and beaten, literally. Avery, being the kind person she was, led the girl gently away and did not come back.

“How’s the girl?” Tristan asked Alex.

“She’s pretty sick. Avery said she thinks it’s malnutrition more than anything else, but she’s got fevers.”

“Oh, boy,” Roman remarked nervously.

“No, not those kind. No bloodshot eyes or anything. She’s just sickly. Weak and fevered, maybe pneumonia or something. I don’t know. Avery’s got it all under control, though.”

“I’m sure,” Tristan said with a light chuckle as he walked away. “Get comfortable. Abraham will show you guys where to crash.”

Elijah left with his brother toward a hallway, but Abraham showed Roman and Jane to his brothers’ room.

“Finn and Ephraim and I all sleep downstairs now. This was Finn and Cyrus’s room,” he explained, trailing off with a sad expression.

“Oh, sorry, man,” Roman said and got a nod.

“Need anything, just check the closet at the end of the hall,” he told them. “Bathroom’s through there. Feel free to borrow clothes from the closets. Everything was sanitized and washed. Finn’s stuff is downstairs now, but Cyrus’s clothes and socks and everything are still here. He…was probably Jane’s size…”

“No, this will be fine. I already borrowed from Kaia. Thanks,” Jane said.

Abraham’s gaze fell to the floor as he pulled the door shut on his way out. When Roman met Jane’s eyes, he knew they were both thinking the same thing. It was just sad, just another lousy situation of a family losing members young and old alike. This virus knew no boundaries when it came to selecting its next victim.

They both used the bathroom, and he could hear her washing up, which was good. He did, as well.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he removed his hoodie and thermal shirt, stripping down to his boxers and t-shirt. After being out in the cold all day and night, he felt too hot inside the house. “That thing ran into you pretty hard. Seems to be a bad habit, you getting hurt.”

“I’m fine.”

Jane removed a heavy sweater and thermal shirt and stayed in a long-sleeved tee. She also took off her jeans but kept on the thermal pants. She was modest, so he expected as much.

“He landed on you,” Roman said.

“I had my mask on. And my hat and a lot of layers.”

He touched her arm and said, “I wasn’t even thinking about sickness. I meant hurt, injured.”

“No, not really.”

“Not really?” he repeated.

She took off her socks and set them in a laundry hamper. “My feet are froze.”

“Maybe you should take a hot shower,” he suggested as she got into the bed instead and pulled the covers up over her lap. “Or not.”

She smiled. “I’m fine. I promise. No germs. Maybe a little hypothermia.”

He tried to smile, too, but it probably looked bleak. Instead, he sat on the bed beside her, which was only a twin size, and faced Jane. Her hair was messy from wearing a stocking hat, but Roman thought she looked just lovely anyway. He cupped her cheek and was glad when she leaned into his palm.

“Wow, you are cold,” he remarked of her cool skin. “Want me to warm you up?”

Her eyebrow shot up.

“Not like that. What a thing to assume, Jane Livingston,” he teased and got a blush.

He waved her over, to which she complied, and he climbed in and took her in his arms, both sitting against the headboard.

“You’re like a furnace,” she said and snuggled more firmly against his side.

“You’re an iceberg,” he returned with a grin and kissed the top of her head, wondering if this was how she was when she went inside after building a snowman or carving out angels with her body. He’d always speculated that she and her grandmother ate homemade soup and made hot cocoa to warm up while sitting by the fireplace. Now that he knew them better, he was positive about that theory. Her life had been enviable, whether she realized it or not.

Within minutes, Jane was asleep against him, and although his arm was also asleep, Roman made no move to get up. He was content to hold her and spend time alone together, even if she was out cold and softly snoring every once in a while. They’d been caught up since moving here, and he missed being alone with just her. Someday, he wanted this full-time. He also wanted normalcy back and the opportunity to have a life with her. Staying alive through all of this was more important than ever. He got little glimpses into her life when he used to spy on her, and damnit, Roman wanted that life to be his with her and someday with their children, as well. He was going to do everything in his power to make that happen for them. He just had to keep them both alive long enough to see it come to fruition.

Chapter Five

Wren

She woke feeling disoriented, which for her, was a difficult feat since she’d spent the last four years of her life on the run and always moving. She was in the basement on a sofa in Avery’s home. Her