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

wasn’t as if Elijah were a leper. As a matter of fact, he was handsome and strong, caring and kind, but also fierce when he needed to be. He also made her laugh sometimes, which was a gift. “We’re just good friends. That’s all. Nothing more.”

“Hm, maybe I’ll have to fix him up with my little sister then. He’s awfully cute,” Avery said with a wink and hopped down to go back into the kitchen and tend to whatever smelled so good on the stove. Wren stared daggers at her back. “Do you want to wake up the guys? I know Tristan has plans to go to town again. I’ll go up and get him while you get your buddy, Elijah.”

Wren tried not to sneer. There was certainly no reason to. Avery didn’t mean anything by her comment, but it still offended her. And that was the most ridiculous thing in the whole situation.

She knew Alex was keeping an eye on that girl all night, so she assumed Elijah was nearby his brother. She’d overheard Avery say Roman and Jane were in a room that used to belong to the little brothers of Avery, one of whom died from the virus. There were so many rooms and hallways in this house that she forgot which was which. She considered knocking but didn’t want to wake anyone who needed extra sleep. Behind her, someone cleared their voice. She spun to find Roman wrapped in only a towel.

“Excuse me,” he said and skirted around her, only to disappear down the hall towards another room.

“Breakfast is ready,” she called after him softly and got a thumbs up over his head before he went into the bedroom and closed the door behind him. Wren sighed and went to the next room.

The second her hand touched the doorknob, Elijah opened the door and startled her. He was also nearly nude in only boxers.

“Oh, sorry!” she exclaimed and then lowered her voice. “Sorry. I was just coming to wake you. Is Alex still asleep?”

“Don’t know. He’s not in here,” he whispered. “I was just going to the bathroom to get dressed.” He closed the door behind him, his clothing tucked under his arm, probably in the same manner he used to carry a football. “I think he was up with that girl all night, and I know he let Avery go to bed. That’s down the other way.” He pointed behind her.

“Right, yeah,” she agreed awkwardly and stepped back, bumping the dog, who she should really just rename Shadow since Dixie was now hers. “Are you going to help with the supplies in that tractor-trailer? I am.”

“Yeah, I mean, if you’re going, I’m going, right?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He shrugged casually and said, “We agreed before we left the city that we were in this together. We stick together, right? Is that still true?”

Elijah towered over her, his massive football player body wide and eclipsing her. Maybe she should rename him Shadow.

“I…I’m not so sure anymore, Elijah.”

He frowned hard and ran his free hand through his blonde hair, which caused it to stand up all over in an adorable way that made him look like a little boy. “I am. I’m still sure. We stick together. That’s how we survive this.”

She tried to offer a smile. “Yeah, okay. Well, breakfast is almost ready.”

Wren scurried away in a hurry. She didn’t want to linger too long for more reasons than she wanted to dwell on. Elijah standing there half-naked was an issue, and so was his plan. She had no delusions of them staying together anymore. If one thing didn’t separate them, something else would.

When she returned to the kitchen, Tristan was sitting at the table with a mug of coffee and bloodshot eyes. He looked harried and exhausted. Avery’s brother Abraham was on his right.

“When you’re done with the mansion, hit the semi-trailer again. Be careful out at the mansion. You never know if any of Jeff’s men are gonna’ come back.”

“Yes, sir. I will,” Abraham said.

“I want to go, too,” Wren put in.

“That’ll be fine,” Tristan said without hesitation, which surprised her. “I think Roman and Elijah also want to go. I’m going back to that bunker with Alex.”

“I don’t think they got a lot of sleep,” she pointed out as Avery brought in a tray of sausage links and some sort of croissants.

“Eat up. You’ve got a busy morning ahead of you,” she insisted and took a seat next to her fiancée.

“Thanks,” the guys said.

Then Tristan turned back to her and said, “They’ll be fine. To answer your hesitancy about working with them. It’s important for everyone to learn to go without sleep. There may be times where we need to pull twelve-hour shifts during some of these operations. Sometimes longer. Sometimes days, too. Sleep always has to take a back seat to needs and wants.”

“That’s not a problem for me,” she said. “I’m used to sleeping lightly.” She fed Dixie part of her meal, to which nobody complained or scolded her for doing. The dog was a part of their team as far as she was concerned. And more than once, she’d alerted to the sounds of those things being near before anyone else would’ve possibly been able to.

“Why’s that?” Abraham asked.

“Oh, just…” she stammered for a logical reason since she was a dolt and screwed that up. She didn’t want them to know her past. It would just put them in terrible danger, and they were nice people. “Um, just a light sleeper is what I meant to say.”

“Well, when you guys get back, we’re having a meeting. There’s a lot we need to go over,” Tristan said. “I want to make plans for our future here, contingency plans in case this gets worse. Plus, we should go over how to handle things from here on out. Jane’s dad will be back over later to cover some of it.”

“Sure,” she agreed, although Wren was still hesitant about making long-term plans with this