Only The Dead Don't Die | Book 4 | Finding Home Popovich, A.D. (any book recommendations txt) 📖

Buzz Saw stared him down. Probably waiting for Justin to say—something. How could he? Surely, Buzz Saw would recognize his voice. After all, Buzz Saw had been his mentor: How to be a smuggler. What a joke that had been. All the jerkweed had done was sit on his lazy ass while Justin had done all the grunt work.

Justin sifted through the pharmaceutical bag and handed Buzz Saw a box of Sudafed. The dude had serious sinus problems. “Traffic?” Justin said in a gritty tone.

“Ah, how thoughtful,” Buzz Saw mocked. “Gimme the damn gold!”

Justin kept his mouth shut and handed him the promised bag of pharmaceuticals and Elite gold.

The gold went into his pocket first. Then Buzz Saw rifled through the bag. “So, this is how it plays out. We send two every ten minutes since Enforcers started patrolling the free side of Zoat. Those ones are not on our payroll. So, yo peeps got to haul ass.” Buzz Saw opened the red-painted door a crack. “One mo’ thing. The old man’s gotta go with the high risks. At sundown.” The bitter harshness of his words stung.

No freakin’ way. I’m not leaving without Dean! Careful, don’t show emotion. A sign of weakness. “The old man’s ex-Navy SEAL,” Justin lied. “He’s in better shape than me.”

Buzz Saw’s scathing glare told him that he didn’t give a shit. “I make the rules!”

Fanic seeped through Justin’s veins. “Then forget it. I’ll use the other guy’s tunnel,” Justin retorted, thinking off the cuff. He reached for his bag.

Buzz Saw eyed him and seemed to be rethinking it. “If you mean Spasmo, they shut down his tunnel. Hey, I know you—”

Shit! Shit! Shit! “Ye-ah, I’ve seen you around. And, I’m not going without all my peeps,” Justin threatened, channeling his fear into obstinate anger.

“What’s the hold-up?” a man yelled from the back of the building.

Justin pulled out a huge ruby ring with a thick gold band from his jean pocket. He had pillaged it from the Forbidden Zone, saving it for an emergency. This was it. Pre-pandemic days, it would have gone for thousands of dollars.

Justin flashed the gaudy ring in Buzz Saw’s face. “Dude, I just want to get to the other side before the tanks get here.”

Buzz Saw’s eyes widened when Justin handed him the gaudy ring. “Works for me.”

Justin certainly didn’t trust the jerkweed. “Send the Navy SEAL through first.” It was the only way he could be sure Buzz Saw didn’t screw them.

“Hurry it up!” the man in the back yelled.

“You heard the man,” Buzz Saw harassed, slipping the ring on his pinky finger.

With no time to sigh with relief, Justin opened the red door. He pointed to Dean and held up two fingers. Dean ushered Ella and Scarlett. Justin waved his hand no. “You, plus one,” Justin rasped, trying to disguise his voice.

Dean caught on. He grabbed Ella by the arm. She pushed him away. The heavies seemed to notice. Scarlett quickly took Ella’s place, and she and Dean pushed their carts inside.

“Better bust ass with those carts,” Buzz Saw lectured with his signature scowl.

“Hey! You’re holding up the line.” The man in the back must be tired of yelling.

Justin handed Buzz Saw two tokens. Scarlett and Dean exchanged wary glances before running to the back of the building with their carts. Twila was in for a ride. Justin didn’t like the haunting look in Scarlett’s eyes. One of those hinky ESP-like feelings warned they were cutting this close. Selfishly, he wished Ella and Mateo were going first.

Ten minutes until the next two. Justin paced the old Blockbuster and tried guessing the movie titles to the posters peeling off the walls. His dad used to rave about Blockbuster, like it had been the best thing since color T.V. Easy-peasy. Ghost. Men in Black. One of Schwarzenegger’s blockbusters—

“You hear that? Tanks!” Buzz Saw went into a cussing rant, running from window to window. Justin hurried over. The Enforcer patrols had increased exponentially.

Finally, the man at the backdoor yelled, “Next!”

Justin opened the red door a crack and held up two fingers. Luther nudged Mindy and Ella. Double-damn! Ella shook her head adamantly. She probably wanted to go with him. She could be crazy-stubborn. It was one of the things he loved about her. But not today. Losing patience, he motioned them on.

Ella stood there, stamping her foot. Luther hesitated and then followed Mindy inside. Ella and Mateo can’t wait outside—with Enforcers. And muggers.

Luther fist-bumped him. “Sorry, bro. Tried.”

Justin handed him two tokens. “Ye-ah.” Justin hurried outside to Ella. She must be going insane. The heavies were busy talking shit to the Enforcers. Ella’s petrified, glazed eyes freaked him out. “It’s okay.” He wanted to hug her, to comfort her.

“I can’t believe you left me out here,” she rambled in one of her PMS moods.

“You should have gone first,” he cracked back, eyeing the street. He waited around, acting all nonchalant while she tapped her foot.

It was taking too long. More than ten minutes. Two haggard men with a wheelbarrow knocked at the red door. They must be next. A steady stream of Enforcers gathered at each end of Zoat Street. It looked like they would start rounding up cits for the re-education camps soon.

Buzz Saw opened the red door. “Those two!” He pointed to Justin.

“Finally,” he mumbled to Ella.

Her brows knitted into a unibrow when the two heavies rushed them. Ella grabbed his arm.

“We’re next. Right?” Justin’s voice quivered.

“Punk Ass!” Buzz Saw shouted. “Tried to screw me over again. Not this time. Yo ass is grass.”

Holy shit! What had tipped him off? Had he seen the photo? A Jeep raced across what had once been a lawn. And