Sparrow’s Flight by Jenika Snow Page 0,13
her dress. But before he could make a step toward them, another one came from out of the trees across from them. This one had his arms out in front of him and green-and-black goo coming from its eyes.
Sparrow had her weapon in her hand, a thick steel pipe that did a lot of good when brought across the heads of the sick, but before she could move, Asher tightened his hold on her. “He’s got it, Sparrow. You’ll just distract him running out there.”
And Asher was right. Right when she thought the walking corpse would have grabbed Mason, he had him on the ground and his blade buried right in one of those nasty, dead eye sockets. Mason pulled it out and wiped his blade clean once more, turned and scanned the area, and then came back to them. He stared at her for a moment before grunting something out to Asher.
“Come on, let’s see if there’s anything useful in the car. Just stay behind me and close.” He tried to take hold of her hand, but she took a step back. He stopped, which had Mason doing the same. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She looked between the two of them. Mason had that perpetual scowl on his face, as if her stopping them was wasting their time. “I just want you guys to know I can handle myself. You don’t have to watch over me like I’ll break.” She held up her weapon. “I’ve killed plenty of them, and joining you means I want to help, not be a hindrance. I can hold my own with you guys and carry my weight.”
Mason grunted, and Asher sliced an irritated look at him.
“We found you nearly getting eaten and clawed to death by one of those fuckers,” Mason said low with a hint of anger in his voice. “So excuse me if I’d rather you do what we say instead of getting in our way.”
What. An. Ass. Sparrow tightened her hold on the pipe and glared at him. She had learned over time that keeping her mouth shut was for the best, but there were some things that just needed to be said.
“If I am such a burden to you, which your attitude seems to claim, then why in the hell did you even ask me to join you?” Sparrow had never been one to speak her mind. She was perfectly content in doing what she wanted, and if someone didn’t like it, they could go fuck themselves. But for the last few days of being in Mason’s company, seeing the glares and narrowed-eyed looks he gave her, and the overall icy disposition he wore like a damn chip on his shoulder, he was pushing it. “I survived this whole time without you, and I certainly can manage it again.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, but she would not let the sight of his raw masculinity sway her better judgment. He was an asshole, and all she said was she wanted to help.
“And I’ll say it again. If we hadn’t come along when we did, you’d be half eaten and walking around infected like the rest of them.” He turned and took a step but stopped and looked back at her. “And for the record, I didn’t offer to take you along. Ash did.” Mason said it so icily, so fucking dead-toned, that Sparrow’s entire body stiffened. He looked at Asher. “Now let’s fucking look through the car and get the hell out of here. I’m done talking and drawing even more attention to ourselves.”
He was moving toward the car, and Asher opened his mouth to say something, but she shook her head and followed Mason onto the street and toward the car. Okay, so she wasn’t welcome by Mason. That much was clear. And she certainly didn’t want to be somewhere, traveling with someone who clearly didn’t want her there. So she’d just have to leave. She’d go with them into town, see if she could scrounge up some supplies, and get the fuck away from them. Maybe they should have just left her there for the infected, but maybe she wouldn’t have been okay if they wouldn’t have shown up.
One thing was certain. Sparrow wasn’t about to hang around someone who didn’t want her there. She much preferred to be on her own anyway.
Chapter Six
The interior of the car hadn’t offered anything, but when Mason popped the trunk, they found a gallon of water, a few blankets, and a