The Undead Uproar Read online

  WE HAD A BIT OF TIME TO burn before dinner. Chris and the others opted to spend it reading hoodoo books in the lobby. Jack, however, dragged me upstairs. I thought he was finally going to unleash the anger he’d been holding inside, but instead he pointed to the bed.

  “Strip,” he ordered.

  I gaped. “That’s really romantic, Jack. I guess the bloom is already off the rose.”

  “I’ve never really understood that saying, but that’s not what I’m talking about.” He dragged his shirt over his head and dropped his pants. “I need a nap.”

  “Oh, like a nap nap?”

  “Like a nap nap,” he agreed, his lips curving. “I can’t trust you not to chase strangers and get in trouble, so I want you to take a nap with me.”

  Honestly, a nap sounded good. I didn’t want to reward him for bad behavior, though. “You’re kind of bossy.”

  “I’m your boss.”

  “Not on this matter.” I folded my arms over my chest. “You need to ask nicely if you want a nap.”

  He stared at me for what felt like a long time, his jaw working. Finally, he exhaled and forced a smile. “Fine. Will you please take a nap with me so I don’t freak out?”

  “Yes.” I stripped out of my clothes, leaving my bra and underwear in place because I didn’t want him to think I was being too forward. His arms were already open when I rolled to meet him in the middle of the bed. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about seeing him. It’s just ... I don’t ever want you to think that I’m stupid … or even a little crazy. I also want to prove I should be a part of this team.”

  “Charlie.” He sounded exasperated as he slid his arms around me. “We need to work on your self-esteem. I get that this is your first real job and you feel as if you lucked into it because it’s something you only dreamed of being a part of, but you’re valuable to me on several different levels.

  “The first is obviously this level,” he continued, burying his face in my neck and brushing his lips across my quivering skin in a manner that caused me to giggle. “This is only a small part of it. You’re the most valuable member of this team in a lot of ways. You can’t see it because you’re new, but I see it.”

  I went warm all over. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.” We lapsed into silence for a moment and I thought there was already a chance he’d fallen asleep. Then he spoke again. “You’re still in trouble for running after that guy. I’m saying this as the chief of security, not your boyfriend. You could’ve been hurt.”

  “I’m sorry. I just ... reacted. I don’t understand why he’s following.”

  “I don’t either, but I plan to find out. You have my word on that. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

  It was a sweet promise, one we both knew he couldn’t keep. There were things in this world we didn’t understand. He couldn’t watch me every second of every day. Neither of us wanted that. Sure, we were in a new relationship and semi-addicted to one another. We would get over that eventually and settle into a more comfortable rhythm, though. I was looking forward to that.

  “She said things to me,” I whispered. “She knew about me being abandoned. She said ... she said that they were still out there looking for me. Do you think that’s true?”

  Jack tightened his hold on me. “I don’t know. If you want to look, I’ll help you. I already told you that. As for potential reasons for them leaving you, I can’t say. I just know that I can’t fathom how anyone could know you and leave you.”

  “Maybe I was a rotten kid or something.”

  “No, you have a good heart. That was the first thing I noticed about you. I don’t think it was learned. It’s inherent with you.”

  “That might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

  He playfully swatted my rear end. “You’re also a massive pain in the behind. Thankfully you seem to be worth it.”

  “Yeah, I’m a real catch.”

  He laughed against my ear. “Go to sleep. We both need the rest. If you’re good, I might catch you again later.”

  “That sounds like a plan.”

  I WOKE BEFORE JACK. He was dead to the world and sleeping so deeply I didn’t want to disturb him. I estimated we’d slept for about two hours. That was more than enough for me.

  I carefully rolled out of bed and collected my clothes from the floor. I dressed in the bathroom and ran a brush through my hair so it didn’t look as if I’d been walking around in a wind tunnel. I wrote a note on the hotel stationery and placed it on the pillow next to his head. The plan was to join everyone in the lobby and offer my help. It was empty when I reached it, though, which threw me.

  I checked my phone to see if there was a group text. It was early enough in the afternoon that we still had an hour before we were expected to meet for dinner. It was possible everyone else was taking breaks — perhaps group naps were common with our merry band of monster hunters and I simply didn’t know about it — but I decided to ask the concierge where the rest of our group had disappeared to before I started searching. Then a scream ripped through the air, and before I had time to think what it could mean I raced toward the front desk.

  There, Emeline was screeching as she backed away from a man. He wore tattered clothing and growled as he tried to climb the desk to get to her.

  “Go away,” she howled, her voice clogged with tears. “I don’t understand. I ... what are you doing here? Is this a nightmare?”

  I stopped in the middle of the room, debating what to do. The only thing that could be used as a weapon was the lamp on the side table. I grabbed it without hesitation, ripping the cord from the outlet, and brandished it over my head as I hurried toward the man.

  “Hey!”

  He swiveled in my direction. The movement wasn’t fast. Heck, it almost seemed as if he was moving in slow motion, and when he turned I realized half his face was missing. His eyes looked to be empty sockets. There was nothing in there to see from, yet I swear he looked right at me.

  Spittle formed at the corners of his mouth and oozed through the gaps where several teeth were missing. I saw a tongue moving in there but it didn’t look like anything that had ever belonged to a living, breathing human being.

  “Holy ... !” I was aghast. “That’s a zombie!”

  “That’s my husband,” Emeline snapped. “He’s dead. He’s been dead for a year. I don’t understand how this is happening.”

  I didn’t understand either. I only knew I had to react. “Okay, well ... I’ve got this.” I strode forward with more bravado than I actually felt and stopped two feet in front of the monster. “Hello, Barry. I wish I could’ve met you under different circumstances.”

  He lurched in my direction and was practically on top of me with a single step. “Uh-huh.” I swung out with the lamp, catching him square on the side of the head. He listed to the side, making a hiss that sent chills running down my spine. My inclination was to put distance between him and me, so that’s what I did. In my haste to get away, though, I barreled into the table and it knocked me sideways.

  “Ow.” I stumbled, but managed to remain upright. When I turned, Barry was still giving chase. He looked deranged ... and hungry. “I thought these things weren’t supposed to want to eat people,” I complained.

  “This is just a dream,” Emeline chanted over and over, making the sign of the cross. She was in her own little world and apparently wasn’t keen on offering help. “Lord, protect me from this unholy thing.”

  “You could’ve included me in the prayer,” I groused as I stared at the thing that had once been a man. It was as if I was trapped in a bad horror movie. I couldn’t allow this to continue. Innocent and unknowing guests could wander into the lobby at any time. I had to do something.

  I had to use my magic. It was a reflex when he closed the distance again. This time I lashed out with my powers, sending a strong wave of magic into him. It hit with such force he was lifted from his feet and slammed into the wall.

  He had to be do
wn, I reasoned as I rubbed my shaking hands against my jeans. Nothing could survive that blow.

  Barry was still moving. He reached out with his hands and grunted as he failed to find traction enough to climb to his feet. I heard people on the other side of the door. The lobby was about to be invaded.

  With no other ideas and actual lives about to be put on the line, I gathered my strength and lashed out again. This time I used the magic to gather the furniture — the couch, two chairs and three tables grouped in front of me — and sent them careening toward the man on the ground.

  They hit with a sickening thud, the sound of bones breaking and wood smashing against flesh echoing in my ears. Barry stopped moving and fell silent. Emeline sobbed harder. I dropped to a knee to collect myself.

  The front door opened and two women entered. They were having a good time, laughing and cavorting. Then they saw the body and the chuckles turned to screams.

  It was at that point I wished I’d stayed in bed with Jack.

  Twenty-One

  I was still kneeling on the ground recovering my strength when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I swiveled quickly, expecting another attack, but it was only Millie. Her eyes swam with worry as she hunkered over and met my gaze on an even level.

  “You need to get up.”

  That sounded ridiculous in my head. “I am up.”

  “You’re not.”

  “But ... .”

  “Get up, Charlie.” She was firm. “Chris is coming, and if he sees you on your knees it will be hard to explain.”

  In the back of my head I understood she was trying to help. I sucked in a breath and stood, earning an energetic head nod from Millie before she dragged me away from the front desk and directed me toward a couch.

  “Sit here.”

  The order baffled me. “I thought I was supposed to stand.”

  “No, you were just supposed to get off the floor,” Millie shot back. “You need to get it together, Charlie. I understand something went down here, but ... well, actually I have no idea what went on. There’s a dead guy at the end of the room who looks as if he’s been dead for a very long time.”

  “Barry,” I volunteered dully. “He was Emeline’s husband. He died a year ago ... and came back.”

  Millie’s eyebrows hopped. “Seriously?”

  “He was dead.” I ran the information through my head and tried to make sense of what I’d seen. “He was dead and yet he was on his feet. He was growling ... and snapping his teeth.” I focused on her for the first time. “I thought these zombies weren’t supposed to want to eat people.”

  “Yeah. That’s the word on the street.” Millie kept her hand on my shoulder as Chris and Hannah rushed into the room.

  My stomach did a small somersault as my boss scanned for familiar faces and finally landed on us. “What happened?” he asked breathlessly.

  “I’m not sure,” Millie replied. “There was a lot of screaming and hoopla. There’s a dead guy at the end of the room. Be careful. People say he might be a zombie. Don’t let him bite you.”

  Chris appeared almost giddy. He looked right past me and searched the area behind me for clues. There were none, so he turned his attention to the other side of the room, to where Barry rested under a pile of furniture. “Do we know who that is?”

  “Emeline’s husband,” I replied dully.

  “Seriously?” Chris’s eyes widened. “Hasn’t he been dead, like, a year?”

  “That’s the word on the street.” I laughed, although it was totally mirthless. “Millie says ‘word on the street’ all the time.”

  Millie shot me a look but remained silent.

  “Awesome.” Chris kicked his heels together and took off in the direction of the body, Hannah scurrying behind. That left Millie and me alone.

  “We need to come up with a convincing lie ... and fast,” she announced, glancing around. “I ... have ... no ... idea.” She looked lost. “How are we going to explain this?”

  I didn’t get a chance to answer because Jack joined the party. He glanced around, stunned disbelief washing over his features when he saw the body. He initially stepped in its direction and then froze, as if sensing me staring, and turned to find me. He completely forgot about the zombie and raced to me.

  “Charlie?” He brushed my hair from my face and stared into my eyes. “What’s wrong? What ... happened?”

  Those were two excellent questions. “I don’t know.” I shifted on my seat, uncomfortable. “I ... .”

  “Things happened really fast,” Millie announced, taking control of the situation. “Emeline was screaming and Charlie rushed to help. That thing was in here and attacking. I don’t even know what happened because things happened so fast.”

  “I don’t understand.” Jack stroked his hand over my hair in a soothing fashion. “I’m not sure I follow what you’re saying.”

  “I’m not sure I follow it either,” Millie admitted. “Like I said, it all happened too fast. I think ... I think maybe that hoodoo queen did something. That’s the only thing that makes sense.”

  It was Millie trying to blame someone else for my deeds that finally brought me completely back to reality. “No.” I vehemently shook my head. “She wasn’t here. Don’t blame her.”

  Jack looked relieved when I became more animated. Millie, on the other hand, was obviously annoyed. She didn’t want me screwing up her lies. I understood, but I couldn’t let an innocent woman take the blame for something I did.

  “Okay.” Jack forced a smile that didn’t touch his eyes. “What did you see?”

  That was the question, wasn’t it? “I heard Emeline screaming. When I first walked into the lobby, I wasn’t sure what was happening. I just saw him from the back. I knew right away something was wrong, though. His clothes were all tattered ... and there was a smell.”

  “What smell?”

  “Embalming fluid. I recognized it because I had to take a class in school in which we worked with cadavers. It was faint but obvious.”

  “You knew he’d been embalmed.” Jack looked to where Chris and Hannah stood, their heads bent together as they excitedly talked about something. It was clear they were practically overflowing with delight thanks to what they’d found at the other end of the room. “You think it was a zombie, don’t you?”

  I wrapped my fingers around his wrist to make him look at me. “It was a monster, Jack.” There was no way I could lie about that. “He was dead. It was Emeline’s husband. He’s been dead for a year. I’m not making it up. I swear it.”

  “I know you’re not making it up.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “It’s okay. I believe you. Don’t freak out over nothing. Save the meltdown for something that’s real ... like the dead guy in the corner. I’m on your side.”

  Millie beamed at him. “Of course you are. That’s who you are.”

  Jack momentarily furrowed his brow and then shook his head. “I believe Charlie. She’s obviously shaken, and there’s a dead guy who smells pretty bad on that side of the room.” He straightened and glanced around. “What I don’t get is how the furniture ended up on top of him.”

  My stomach twisted. “I ... .”

  “How is she supposed to know that?” Millie challenged. “Whatever went down was weird from the start. She didn’t have anything to do with it.”

  It was then that I realized how Millie intended to play things. Straight-up ignorance and denial. It wasn’t a bad plan. We were dealing with a zombie, after all. I was still uncomfortable lying to Jack. It made me feel guilty. Of course, it wasn’t as if I could tell him the truth ... especially in front of an audience. He wouldn’t understand.

  “Things just started moving?” Jack asked, looking around for confirmation. His gaze finally landed on Emeline, who stood on shaky legs behind the desk, her hands resting on the counter to help her balance. “What did you see? They say the furniture just started moving. Is that what you saw?”

  Technically there was no “they” in
that statement. Millie made the announcement and I just sat in my spot like an idiot. Jack assumed I saw the same thing, so he glossed right over my part in it. I was lucky on that front.

  “I don’t know what I saw.” Emeline’s eyes filled with fright. “All I know is that Barry was in here and he wanted to kill me. I couldn’t believe it when I first saw him. It was like something out of a dream ... and then I realized it was a nightmare because bits of his face were missing. It was ... horrible. He was foaming at the mouth and snapping as he tried to get to me.”

  “What did you do?” Jack asked.

  “I screamed. I didn’t know what else to do. That’s when the girl came in. She jumped right into action and hit him with a lamp.”

  Jack slid his eyes to me. “You hit the zombie with a lamp?”

  I shrugged. “What else was I supposed to do? I didn’t have a machete.”

  “Uh-huh.” This time he mustered a real smile as his hand went to the back of my neck and rubbed at the tension there. “What happened then, Ms. Landry?”

  “I’m not sure.” Emeline looked bewildered. “The girl didn’t back down. She was afraid, but she kept fighting. The next thing I knew, Barry flew across the room and half the furniture went with him. It all crashed down there.” Slowly her eyes tracked to me. “I think she did it.”

  Panic raced through me like a high-speed passenger train. “What?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Jack said, his hand a soothing presence on my back. “She was trying to save you. There’s no way she could make the furniture fly across the room like that.”

  “Maybe she’s evil, like the police said,” Emeline argued. “That detective was here. He said she was behind all of this. Maybe he was right.”

  “And how did she pull that off?” Jack challenged. “She was up taking a nap with me for two hours. You have cameras on every floor. It will prove that we went into her room and didn’t leave for a long stretch. When she finally did leave, I’m betting she didn’t go anywhere but down here.”

  “I was looking for the others,” I offered glumly. “I thought ... well, I thought I could help. I didn’t want to wake you.”