Live Free or Die Complete Series Boxed Set: Age Of Madness - A Kurtherian Gambit Series Hayley Lawson (ebook reader play store .TXT) 📖

toward Willard, but Ryder killed it and made fast work of the last three Mad. These swamp monsters weren’t coming back.

Carter came up beside Ryder after she’d taken them all out. “I’ll check if there’re any more,”

“I’ll come as well,” Clint offered.

Willard gulped as he looked down at the bodies laid out in front of his home. “What the fuck are they?”

“They’re the Mad,” Massimo explained. “It’s some kind of disease that turns people into these monsters. We killed a bunch in the swamp, thought we’d got them all. There was an outbreak last night in town as well.”

“They’re everywhere,” Ryder added.

Willard gazed at the mangled bodies with a calculating expression. “There’s more of them?” he asked. “How do you get the disease?”

Ryder nodded. “Yes. We’ve fought them everywhere we’ve been so far. We haven’t found out how you turn into one, other than if they bite you.”

“They bite you?” Willard’s mouth puckered at the thought.

He looked at each of the men in front of him and then at Ryder. “How much you offering?” he asked Ryder.

Massimo stepped up beside Ryder and looked into Willard’s house. “What would you like?”

“You owe Ryder for saving your life. Shouldn’t repaying the debt be enough?” Leandro pushed, and Ryder nodded in agreement. She didn’t want Massimo to give Willard anything for helping her.

Willard ignored Leandro, looking at Ryder and Massimo instead. “If I go with you and we win, I want to live in the bunker away from this Madness. Also, I hear you have a good music player, Massimo.”

Massimo put his hand out to shake Willard’s.

Even if Massimo hadn’t done the deal for the music player, Willard was going to go with them. He didn’t like the idea of the Mad being everywhere. At least if he were with them he’d have his own protection unit, and if they defeated Afana, he would be safe inside the bunker afterwards. Willard could normally handle himself, but the Mad were a new enemy, and he was afraid.

Ryder grabbed Massimo’s arm. “You can’t,” she protested.

Massimo smiled at Ryder. “Leandro can get me another when he goes to the abandoned mall to get you a doggy bag.” He winked at his son and laughed.

Ryder looked at Leandro, who had a puzzled look on his face, then at his dad. That sneaky vampire had been listening in. Ryder shook her head as Massimo shook Willard’s hand. He’d made the deal.

“Let me get my knives,” Willard told them. He went back into his house and closed the door firmly in Carter’s face.

Carter stepped back, rubbing his nose. “We’ll just wait here then, shall we?”

Ryder shrugged. Willard was nowhere near as hospitable as Koda, who’d opened his home to them. I guess not everyone is going to be as welcoming as those who join us willingly. She wondered what the people in Darkwell would be like. She’d find out soon enough.

Chapter Eighteen

Terrier headed to the bathrooms to see what had happened in there. The bathrooms were foul since Level Five was packed with filthy men who didn’t clean them. After years of living like this you got used to it, but there was no way of getting used to the new smell. Terrier placed his hand over his mouth as he walked into the bathroom, gagging again as the stench in the airless room was dense enough to taste.

Two bodies lay on the floor in a pool of congealing blood. Shane really had beaten the two men to death, which didn’t surprise Terrier one bit. They had the same scabby skin and red eyes that Ivan had come down with, and Vera, too. Whatever the disease was it was spreading.

Terrier left as quickly as possible to resume his search for Samantha. He was amazed that the air on the main level wasn’t so nauseating after being in the rancid bathroom. He glanced up at the glass ceiling. Level Four—why hadn’t he thought about that? Of course Samantha would have headed to the next level if she’d been able to open the door. She was trying to escape, which was great, but she couldn’t make it on her own. Terrier had to find her before someone else did. Once he’d gotten Samantha to safety, he could focus on getting the others out of here.

Terrier turned in the direction of the stairway door just as Decso followed him out of the bathroom.

“Hey, Terrier. How did you get back up here?” Decso asked.

Terrier carried on walking and pretended like he hadn’t heard Decso, although he knew that was pointless. Decso was by his side before Terrier could avoid him.

Decso tugged on Terrier’s sleeve. “Afana’s looking for you.”

“I know.”

“How did you get out of Level Six? All the doors are locked.” Decso asked Terrier.

Terrier paused before he answered. He couldn’t say that Samantha had opened it because Decso was the biggest gossip in the bunker. All the men would know the door was open, and they would be down on Level Six in a flash. All hell would break loose.

Terrier decided to play it smart and answer Decso’s question with another question. “What’s going on up here?”

Decso looked around to make sure no one was listening. “The two men in there went all crazy on Shane. He beat them to a pulp, but they kept on getting up again like nothing he did affected them. One of them took a bite out of Justin like a wild fucking animal.” He eyed Terrier suspiciously. “Now I’ve told you what’s going on here. It’s your turn.”

Terrier’s mind went blank.

He was saved by an anguished scream from Justin, followed by a mixture of shouts and yells from the others. Decso scrambled over to see what was happening and Terrier took the opportunity to make a run for the stairs.

He pounded up them three at a time. The door to Level Four was unlocked, but he couldn’t open it. He looked through the small window and saw a mob of thrashing limbs. Men were tearing each