Alexander Death(87)

His parents stared at him in silence for a long time. Jenny felt increasingly nervous. She glanced at her vodka on the table, but she still didn't want to make a bad impression.

“Well, this is a beautiful house, Mrs. Barrett,” Jenny said, by way of breaking the tension.

Seth's mom just blinked at her. Jenny sank a little in her chair.

“We can do this with your help or without it, but our chance of surviving and escaping will be a lot better if you help us,” Seth told his parents. “We need you.”

His parents looked at each other.





***





Later, Jenny and Seth sat on the dock under the stars, looking out at the dark waters of the Atlantic. Jenny leaned back on him, loving the feeling of his warm hands, which he'd slipped underneath her shirt to rest on her belly.

“Did you really mean what you said?” Jenny asked.

“Which part?”

“About wanting to spend the rest of your life with me?”

“I definitely meant that. It was terrible being without you. I felt like a big part of myself was gone.” He pulled her closer against him. “I missed everything about you, Jenny. Do you remember how much fun we used to have, before everything went crazy?”

Jenny smiled and lay her hand on his. “I remember. It seems like a million years ago, our first date. Halloween.”

“Remember how you puked on me after our first kiss?”

“You just have that effect on people.”

“I miss the sound of you breathing beside me when you sleep,” Seth said. “I would just look at your face and think how lucky I was to find somebody so funny, and smart, and kind, and beautiful...”

“Oh, come on.”

“I mean it. It would kill me if anything happened to you.” His fingers flexed on her stomach. “You should have let me kill Alexander when we had the chance. Then you'd be safe.”

“You weren't in any condition for that. And we had to get out of there fast.”

“I could have done it.” Seth was quiet for a minute. “Are you sure you didn't want him left alive because of your feelings for him?”

“Seth!” Jenny elbowed him. “That's not it.” Jenny wondered, though. She had a felt an intense, magnetic attraction to Alexander. And his understanding of their kind made her feel secure. Maybe she hadn't been ready to see him die.

“Why didn't you let me do it?” he whispered.

“I don't know, Seth. I just got out of his bed a couple hours before that. Killing him on the same day seemed a little...black widowish.”

“You were sleeping with him?”

“What are you so outraged about? You slept with that girl who looked like Ashleigh.”

“I told you, Ashleigh was behind that. She was possessing Darcy Metcalf.”

“And you're so lucky I believe you about that,” Jenny said. “She did a good job acting lonely and pathetic, though. And then she knew I would see you with that girl and think that you were still secretly in love in Ashleigh.”

“And that's why you ran off with Zombie Xander.”

“It helped me decide. But you know, I had to escape from the riot Tommy set up. And from Homeland Security. The National Guard. He saved my life from that mob, you know. I decided I'd rather let them kill me than repeat that terrible Easter again.”

“Then I'm glad he saved you. I wish I'd been there to do it. I'm feel like I'm never there to help the people I love.” A sad look crossed his face, and Jenny knew he was thinking about his brother Carter.

“It's not your fault. And you didn't have a gang of zombies to help out,” Jenny said.

“I wouldn't need one, if I saw you in danger.”

“Aw.”

“So, about sleeping with this other guy...”

“I thought you'd cheated on me. And he was my companion for a thousand lives. See, I'm more like a normal girl now, Seth. I have a psycho stalker ex-boyfriend.”

“But did you love him?” Seth asked.

“I...” Jenny looked him in the eyes. “No, Seth. I didn't love him.”

“Tell me how you hated being with him.”

Jenny couldn't help but think of her long nights with Alexander, how he'd known exactly what to do with his fingers, his tongue... “He did have a thousand lifetimes of experience,” Jenny said.

“Big deal. I just need more practice.”

Jenny turned her head to face him. “Then we'd better practice,” she said.

He kissed her, long and slow.





CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO





Ashleigh was working late in her corner office at the Los Angeles campaign headquarters when he came to see her.

“Ashleigh,” his voice said.

She looked up, startled. He'd entered without a sound. The young man was tall, muscular, with shaggy brown hair, handsome except for the tiny burn scars that dotted his face and neck. He was dressed Rodeo casual, T-shirt and jeans and sneakers that must have cost a thousand dollars. He took off his Fendi sunglasses as he regarded her. His dark eyes seemed to laugh at Ashleigh.